Reading About Phoenixes, Princes and Hallows
by Brackenfrond
Summary: Being zapped to the past in the middle of a war was not what Percy planned. Neither was reading books about his surrogate brothers past. For best results, add one OC, a scattering of non-cannon ships and a dash of slash.
1. Chapter 1

It was the summer holidays. The sun was a vast, fiery orb in the sky, drying up any water, apart from the cold lake located in the Potters' back yard, which was more a field, then a garden. Even that had succumbed to the heat and James could practically see the steam curling off it.

"Ugh. This is boring!" That came from a certain Sirius Black, who was lying on the bed, legs up in the air, moving in a motion which seemed to make him be riding an invisible bike upside down.

"I can't believe it, but I'm agreeing with you completely Padfoot." Remus sighed, looking up from the book he was reading to look at his other best friend, James. "Do you think lunch will be ready soo-"

He was cut off by a yelp as Sirius sat up, rubbing his head, a book now left discarded on the bed he was lying on previously.

"Where the hell did that come from?" James looked sceptically at the thick book while Remus picked it up, eyes widening at the title.

"Err, Prongs? You wouldn't have any relatives called Harry, would you?"

"Not since I last checked – why?" James turned to look at Moony, who was gazing, wide eyed at the book. He raised it to his friend with one, slightly trembling hand.

"Because this is a book about him."

XoOoX

"Where, exactly, did you find this book?" Dorea Potter was sceptical. But, then again, she had grown up a Black and knew that many things which seemed impossible could definitely be possible.

"It fell from the ceiling." Sirius said earnestly, before adding "On my head."

"Poor baby!" Remus mock cooed, snickering as the animagus glared at him in annoyance.

"Now boys," Charlus stood by his wife, looking down at the three younger men who turned their gazes to him. "Don't argue. We need to know exactly what ha-"He was cut off by a blinding white light and the appearance of two figures.

When the light cleared, the two people seemed to be taking offensive stances, covering each other's back. Both were holding wands, arms outstretched, and looking tired out and battle worn.

The first one which caught Dorea's attention was one with brilliant red hair, tangled and dirty, as though it hadn't been washed or if she'd just ran through a forest, fallen over in the dirt and had it snagged in numerous branches. She had a gash down her left cheek and was breathing heavily, grazes easily visible on her hands as well as what appeared to be a massive cut up her right arm, yet the wand was still held steady. Her eyes were a brilliant blue and, at the sight of Dorea, her eyes widened.

She mouthed a word, before her arm grew slack, along with her wand hand and Charlus didn't even need to disarm her as the wand fell to the floor with a dull thud.

A boy with ginger hair still had a firm grip on his wand and had taken a defensive stance next to the girl, looking warily at the other people in the room. He was tall and gangly, blue eyes blazing with undisguised ferocity. He looked better off than the girl, but not by much, only lacking the clearly visible dark patches which the girl's eyes held. He had a cut above his right eye which was bleeding extensively, and he was standing on his left leg awkwardly, but was still looking determined as he quickly disarmed Charlus and pointed his wand at the defenceless man.

"Percy," The girl whispered, grabbing the boy's free arm and pointed a trembling hand at Dorea. "How is this possible?"

"They're messing with our minds, Lexi." Percy growled. "They're trying to confuse us, make us not attack them."

"We're not going to hurt you." At this voice, Lexi turned and made a choking noise in the back of her throat as she caught the gaze of one Sirius Black.

"No, no, no," she muttered. "This is impossible. You're supposed to be dead."

XoOoX

"We were in the middle of a battle when, suddenly, we were zapped here." Lexi had a cup of warm tea in her hands, the gash down the side of her face healed by a quick episky, but it would scar. She absent-mindedly traced it with her index finger. "So we were obviously going to be quite hostile when we first met you – one minute we were surrounded by friend and foe, the next we're in some big manor house."

They had sort of realised that the two meant no harm when Lexi had nearly collapsed, most likely due to disbelief. Percy then had to, of course, ask for help and Dorea, after rolling her eyes at Charlus' warnings, went to examine the younger girl. Once she had reawakened her, Lexi had immediately sat down on one of the armchairs in the room, staring at four of the five in the room in amazement. Charlus, Dorea, James and Sirius.

Apparently, she thought Sirius had been killed. Or was dead. The boy had laughed this off, but then Percy had butted in. And this is where they were now. Percy had gone to go and have a shower, and threatened to hex anyone who would hurt Lexi, at which she exclaimed she could 'bloody well look after herself'. Percy merely laughed, before getting led off by Charlus.

"So, you two are from the future?" Remus was sceptical. He knew time travel was possible – but that was only going back a few hours. It seemed like these two had come back a few years.

"Yes." Lexi sipped some of her tea, before fixing blue eyes on the lycanthrope. "Ask me a question, only you and your friends know the answer to. I'll prove it."

Remus' eyes widened slightly. "James calls something my 'furry little problem'. What does he mean by it?" Lexi held back a snort, before smirking.

"The real reason – or what everyone else believed?" Remus looked at Dorea, who was looking curious and realised that James' parents deserved to know the truth about him.

"Both?"

"Ok. Everyone believed you had a badly behaved rabbit. The real reason was because of your…ah, lycanthropy."

There was a smash of china as the tea cup Dorea was holding fell to the floor as the woman was jolted into shock. Remus merely nodded, before turning weary amber eyes to the woman who was staring ahead into nothing.

"I'll just go, then." He sighed, standing up, ignoring his friends' protests. He was about to walk out the door, when his wrist was grabbed by the time traveller. Turning to meet her eyes, he saw they were pleading, yet determined.

"No. You are staying here, we need you here." Remus saw sincerity in her eyes and briefly wondered how close he was to her in the future, before nodding slightly and sitting in between Sirius and James.

"Mum?" Dorea jerked slightly, before looking at the three boys, Remus who was trying to hide in the cushions and she smiled warmly.

"Don't worry, Remus. We won't judge you. It was just a shock, that's all." The lycanthrope visibly relaxed. All attention turned to the door as Charlus and Percy walked in, the younger boy wearing some of the man's shrunken robes, which clashed rather terribly with his hair and caused Lexi to burst into a giggling fit. Fortunately, she had placed the cup on the coffee table, so there was no more broken china to clean up.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Percy muttered, rolling his eyes, before changing the bright red robes to a softer blue colour. He sat on the arm of Lexi's armchair and messed up her already messy hair. "Move it, Mortez. You're a mess."

"Very nice, Perce. Excuse me, Mrs Potter, would you mind showing me your bathroom?" Dorea did so, standing up and showing Lexi to the bathroom, Percy sliding into her now free seat.

They returned about forty-five minutes later, Lexi clad in some olive green robes and her hair braided down her back.

"I have never been more relieved to have met someone who has my own hair colour." Lexi said, sticking her tongue out at Percy who scowled at the younger girl.

"Wait a sec!" James ran into the kitchen, causing Lexi and Percy to exchange confused looks. When he came back in, he was holding a book in his hands and, as soon as the two newcomers caught sight of the title, they let out gasps of realisation.

"Holy Merlin," Percy breathed. "Harry…"

"He has a book?" Lexi said, before bursting into laughter. "He will be mortified!"

"Lexi, this is serious!"

"I'm Sirius!"

"Shut up! This book is from the bloody future!" Lexi got a proper look at the book.

"Actually, it's from the past for us. See, it says 'fifth year'."

"Yes, through to seventh." Lexi's eyes widened.

"Oh."

"'Oh' indeed. Some of the stuff in there even we don't know about!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Charlus raised his hand, causing the two to stop talking and turn to look at the elder Potter. "So, you are saying this book is from the future?"

"Yes."

"Is it about one of our relatives?"

"Yes."

"Do I marry Evans?"

"If you mean Lily, yes James."

"YES!" At this, the boy began to do a victory dance.

"I think we should read this." Lexi said, taking the book which had fallen from James' hands when he started his victory dance. "But we'll need more people."

"What?" Dorea began, slightly hesitantly. "We should read this and…and…"

"Mess up the space time continuum?" Percy commented dryly. "I think that's what Lexi is planning."

"We could obliviate you later." Lexi offered. "If changing the future bothers you too much, that is." Dorea merely sighed, along with Charlus.

"Who do you need?"

XoOoX

"You actually want some slimy Slytherins here?" Sirius was definitely sceptical.

"Hello, slimy Slytherin right here and yes, I do." The Black heir's jaw dropped open as Lexi casually walked down Spinners Way. "We also need Lily Evans and I thought we could get Severus Snape while we were. Makes life a lot easier."

"Who else do you want to get?"

"Oh, not many others. Adromeda, Ted and Nymphadora Tonks, Percy's getting the Weasleys. The Potters are sorting out Dumbledore and McGonagall. Oh, and we need your brother."

"WHAT!" Sirius was enraged.

"I know you don't get along with him, but please, Sirius," Lexi turned to the boy with pleading eyes. "You'll regret it if you don't have some closure in about four years."

"Why should I? He's a bloody git, didn't bother stopping my blasted parents from hurting me, tattled on me at school-"

"BECAUSE HE DIES!"

There was silence as Lexi slapped a hand over her mouth, obviously amazed that she had just blurted out that piece of information. Sirius was staring.

"My brother dies…when he's eighteen." It was a choked out statement. "Oh Merlin."

"Sirius," The Black raised his head and found himself looking into brilliant blue eyes. "We're going to stop this from happening, aren't we? Come on; let's go get Lily and Severus."

Before Sirius could respond, she was knocking on the door of a house, just off Spinner Way, which was opened by an older woman, with long brown hair and green eyes, which he recognised as Lily's eyes.

"Hello? Are you here for Lily?" She asked and Lexi nodded.

"Yes Ma'am. If you don't mind, could we speak to you, your husband and your daughters, please? It's something to do with magic." The woman looked slightly wary, and Sirius sighed, before going to stand next to Lexi.

"Hello Mrs Evans. I don't think you know me – Sirius Black." He held his hand out and shook the hand of Lily's mother. There was the sound of footsteps and the sound of a female voice.

"Mum, who's at the doo- oh, it's you." A younger Lily Potter was standing behind her mother and Lexi had to prevent a gasp from escaping her lips at the sight of bright, emerald green eyes. "Black. What are you doing here?"

"As I was asking before – do you mind if we both come in? It is a magical emergency. Well, sort of anyway." Lexi butted in and, at Mrs Evans' nod, walked into the threshold, smiling at a rather shocked Lily.

They made their way to the Living room, where a man was reading a newspaper, but put it down as soon as the four people walked into the room.

"Rose? Who are these people? Are they your friends, Lily?" Lily sighed.

"One of them most certainly is not my friend –"

"Evans, you wound me!"

"Shut up, Black. The other one, well…"

"I'm Alexis Mortez, sorry about this whole mess, but I didn't think you'd appreciate James coming over and mooning over you, and Remus is with his parents." Lexi said quickly. "Would you mind getting Petunia for me?"

"How do you know my daughter's name?" Rose asked, looking suspicious.

"All shall be explained soon. I need you all together though – telling the entire story too many times is very, very tiring." She quipped, before perching on the edge of an armchair. "Well, I know me and you know me too. I know that your name is Lily," Lexi pointed to Lily, who squeaked, before darting off, presumably to find her sister. "You're Rose," This time it was Mrs Evans and Sirius found himself sighing. Why did he get paired up with Lexi again? "And you're…um…let me think…oh yeah! You're Michael, right?" At this, Mr Evans nodded rather warily. "Good. Sorry, going through time periods is rather confusing."

"Oh, so you're a…witch." The word was sneered and Lexi was met with the blue eyes of Petunia Evans.

"Why, yes I am. Great observation." Lexi clapped dryly and Lily hid a smile behind her hand. "Well, I've got to tell you something which is very important and life changing and stuff. So, if you could all be quiet, I will begin."

After the explanation, the entire family, even Petunia, were staring in shock at the time traveller, who was running her forefinger down the side of her face.

"So, you're from the future? And got zapped out of a battle?" Lily asked tentatively.

"Yes." Lexi confirmed. "It sounds slightly impossible, I know. Percy and I still need to figure out how to get back. In the meantime, we're going to read a book. From the future – well, your future, my past." Lexi said, smiling. "So, are you in?"

"Of course!" Lily exclaimed. "It would be amazing to find out what will happen in the future!"

"Is that all?" Petunia asked and Lexi could clearly see the fact that she felt slightly abandoned and an idea came to mind.

"No."

"Well, then, goodb – wait, what?" Petunia looked indefinitely confused and Lexi smiled at her.

"Care to join us? Oh," Lexi looked at both Michael and Rose. "You can come too – we want to change the future as much as possible. We have tons of witches and wizards, but no Muggles. It would be brilliant if you could come!"

"I don't think the Potter's would mind if we had a few more people coming." Sirius added feeling slightly neglected. "Or we could use the Great Hall in Hogwarts and ask Dumbledore –"

"Professor Dumbledore."

"Whatever Evans. We could ask him if he could lower the anti-Muggle wards to allow you three in."

"Really?" Petunia sounded hopeful. "You mean it?"

"Yep!" Lexi chirped, before standing up. "There's one more person we need to get from around here, then we're done!"

"Oh." Lily's face grew pale. "You mean Sev, don't you?"

XoOoX

Percy strolled through the familiar setting of Ottery , a happy Remus Lupin following the young man.

"Are we going to see Molly Weasley?" Remus asked. "I like her. She's really nice." Percy smiled.

"Yep. She's my mother. I'm going to be born in August of this year." Remus stared, wide eyed, in disbelief.

"Really?"

"Yes. It's quite surreal – Lexi would get a kick out of this, probably be cackling madly at the sight of amazement on my mum's face."

"You like her, don't you?" Percy spluttered slightly. Was it really that obvious?

"Well, yeah. I sort of promised her that, once the war was over, I'd marry her in her seventh year." He laughed. "It was a pretty stupid move, especially considering the fact I…well, you'll find out in the book."

"You did something you regret, didn't you?" Remus was looking calculatingly at the elder boy, who sighed, looking at the ground.

"Every day I regret it. I almost lost everyone and everything I really cared about with that one move and I didn't even realise it until that promise." Percy merely sighed. "I don't think Lexi will ever forgive me for what I did. I think she's lost all love for me."

"She seemed to be alright with you back there – you were fighting together."

"Only because we're in the middle of a war. Oh, we're here."

The Burrow looked mostly the same as it did in Percy's time and he was relieved to see a familiar landmark, despite the fact it wasn't as unstable-looking as it was in his time, as they did only house four people at the moment, soon to house a fifth. It was bizarre, he thought absently, as he knocked on the door and was greeted by a younger version of his mother, stomach round with, well, him.

"Hello, dear. Remus! It's been ages!"

"Hello Molly. I would've come round sooner." The matriarch smiled, shaking her head.

"It's no problem dear. Who's your friend?"

"I'm Percy." He wanted to get out of this awkwardness as soon as possible. "Sorry to be brash, moth – err, Molly, but Remus and I need to discuss something really, really important with you and your family. Do you mind if we come in?" Molly looked perplexed, before sidestepping and allowing the two to enter.

"Just sit at the table. I'll be back in a minute. Arthur, we have guests!"

Even more bizarre than seeing a younger version of his mother was seeing a younger version of his father. He looked so much younger, fresher, alive, no bags under his eyes, and no creases on his work worn face. The same kindness still glimmered in his blue eyes and Percy felt guilt swell up in him as he imagined this amazing person in front of him, slowly becoming more work worn and tired as he had to supply his growing family with the bare necessities. How could he have left them to fend for themselves?

Molly came back down the stairs later and seeing the younger versions of his elder brothers definitely was amazing. It was obvious Charlie still held his love for all things dragon related, a stuffed, red dragon held in his right hand, his blue eyes wide and curious. Bill was free of the scars Fenrir gave him and looked a little like a younger version of Percy himself. It was amazing; to know that once they left Hogwarts, one would be a curse breaker, the other working at a dragon reserve in Romania.

"Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Molly asked, Charlie sitting on her lap once she'd sat down, carefully minding the child growing inside of his mother, while Bill sat on his own chair and Percy couldn't help but smile – the blackmail he could use in the future, that is, if they got out of the war alive.

"Well, Mrs. Weasley, this may be hard to believe, but I'm from the future." Arthur's hand twitched towards his side, where his wand was and Molly stared. "I'm not lying, I swear. Other than that, I'm sort of your son."

Arthur jolted up, wand hand outstretched, pointing directly at Percy.

"What do you want from us?" He growled, and Charlie let out a whimper and Bill stiffened.

"I swear upon my magic I am telling the truth!" Percy exclaimed. A gust of wind swept through the kitchen and seemed to seal the oath. "I promise you, I mean no harm!"

"He's telling the truth, Arthur!" Remus said. "He and another girl were zapped into the Potter's kitchen, and that's heavily warded against apparition. Only Voldemort himself would be able to break it, and even then it would take years." Arthur lowered his wand and Molly, with a cry, flung herself at Percy, who felt a spark of recognition as this was what happened that fateful Christmas day.

"You're my child!" She said, hugging the man, who was ignoring Remus' snicker. "Which one?"

"The one you're carrying now." He said, reciprocating the hug, tears springing to his eyes. "Percy Ignatius Weasley, born the twenty-second of August, 1976."

Soon Molly left his embrace and Percy wiped tears away from his eyes. Arthur smiled.

"I doubt the only reason you're here is to tell us you're from the future – anything else you want us to know?"

So Percy told his story, Molly's smiled growing every time he mentioned one of his brother and she almost fainted with glee when he told her about Ginny.

"The first Weasley girl in generations." Arthur said, smiling.

Once Percy mentioned Lexi, Molly had a knowing glint in her eyes and he inwardly cringed. His mother was going to try and get them together – he didn't mind, Lexi would probably think he'd set it up though.

"…And that's it. We're going to read about your future and some of mine too."

"Can we bring Fabian and Gideon?" Molly asked, and Percy instantly nodded. His uncles were to die in five years, anyway, and he had no good memories of them. "Oh, excellent, I'll call the through the floo." She did so and Percy found himself, about half an hour later, looking at the uncles he couldn't remember.

"So, this is our nephew, eh?" The twin on the right said, and looking closely, he saw that his hair was a shade lighter than his twins, barely noticeable, but after dealing with the twins, Percy was used to it. Now, if only they didn't do that thing with the-

"He looks rather poncy, doesn't he Fideon?" At that, Percy groaned and slammed his head on the table with a resonating thus.

"The twins are their reincarnations!" He groaned, causing his uncles to beam.

"More twins, that sounds-"

"Brilliant, doesn't it Gideon?"

Percy was repeatedly headdesking himself, until Remus held onto the back of his shirt, effectively stopping him from causing brain damage, while Charlie and Bill laughed at the 'funny person' who was amazed and rather scared at the similarities between his brothers and his uncles.

"Now, boys." Molly scolded. "You're tormenting the poor man!"

"Who is our nephew. It's our-"

"Job to torment him."

"My life is over." Percy groaned, before standing up, getting tackled by two little people, who were, ironically, his elder brothers. He sighed, before picking up Charlie and placing him on his shoulders. "Well, Lexi expects us to be meeting her in about an hour and the Tonks' house. That leaves us enough time to get your parents, doesn't it Remus?"

"Yep. Molly, Arthur, you know where they live, don't you? And Percy, you said you'd been to my house before and had a vague memory of it. So if you side along apparate me, Molly can take Charlie and Arthur Bill, two of you can come back and get –"

"Actually, I have a better idea." Percy said, grabbing a normal, dusting broom. "Lexi told me it's a lot quicker to make a portkey and since Arthur, Gideon and Fabian work at the Ministry…"

"We authorise it!" The three said in unison and Percy smiled, before tapping the broom with his wand and murmuring 'portus'.

"It's set to go off in a minute, so grab on – think you can do that, Charlie? Bill?" The two nodded eagerly, before grabbing the broom along with everyone else and, with a pull on his naval, Percy, his family and Remus had left the kitchen in The Burrow.

XoOoX

"Hello? Anyone in?" Lexi had been knocking on the door of the Snape house for ages. Either the people inside weren't willing to answer the door or no one was in.

"Sev, are you there?" Lily called, taking over the insistent hammering. The door was answered in a matter of seconds by a young, sallow skinned, black haired boy and Lexi's breath was caught in her throat as she saw her dour potions master when he was only a boy.

"Lily?" His voice was hopeful, pleading, and then he spotted Sirius. "Black. What are you doing here?"

"This was not my idea." He muttered. "Ask Mortez over here." He gestured with a thumb to Lexi, who rolled her eyes as onyx eyes surveyed her.

"Hello, Severus." Severus didn't question how she knew his name, but his eyes narrowed more. "Is your mother in?"

"Yes." His voice was wary. "But my father is at work."

"All the better – do you mind if I come in. Lily, would you mind accompanying me?" Lily shook her head and followed the fellow red head into the Snape household, followed by Severus once he'd closed the door.

"May I ask why you are here?" He asked, rather snidely, Lexi thought, but merely shrugged it off.

"Details shall be explained later – Lily knows." She said, before directing herself into the living room.

She knew that the woman she saw was Severus' mother almost straight away. She looked like a once-beautiful woman, who had been living a hard life, with tired, black eyes and bags under them. A worn face was now pale and sullen, a lot like her sons, but her nose was not hooked, like her sons. She barely acknowledged Lexi's prescence.

"Mrs. Snape?" The question was tentative and the woman turned tired eyes to the younger woman. "Don't worry, you'll be safe soon."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Severus' voice was harsh. Lexi immediately realised she'd revealed too much.

"Sev!" Lily grabbed his arm before he could draw his wand. "Listen to her! She says she's from the future!"

"Impossible!" He countered. "Time travel from years ahead is impossible!"

"It isn't." The voice of Eileen Snape was tired, yet held a shred of hope as her gaze turned more curious. "You say you're from the future. You know?"

"I know a lot of things." Lexi replied vaguely. "I know what happens between you and your husband. I know what Severus becomes after school. I know how Voldemort appears to be almost indestructible. I and my friend, Percy, were taken back in time whilst fighting said Dark Lord and, with the help of some books, hope to change the future for the better."

"By messing up the space time continuum." Severus inputted dryly and Lexi snorted.

"Percy said the exact same thing." She said reminiscently. "We need both of you there – especially you Severus." It took one look at Lily's eyes, which were bright and hopeful, to nod. Maybe he could reform their friendship. "Mrs. Snape?"

"Eileen." She replied, standing up. In stature, she was tall, elegant. "Who else are you collecting?"

"We have Sirius Black, the Evans', you two, Percy, who is collecting Arthur, Molly and children. Possibly Fabian and Gideon, knowing him. Remus Lupin and his parents, the Potters. We still need to get the Tonk's, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and Regulus Black."

"Regulus?" Snape looked curious. "Why him?"

"He plays an important part in the story, or at least, he should do." Lexi said. "We'll probably end up bringing more people than we first intended to, but if we bring down the anti-Muggle wards at Hogwarts, we could read the books there." She said.

"Well, should we go?" Lily asked and, with a quick 'tempus', Lexi nodded.

"We need to get to the Tonks'. Let's go outside." And, with a quick turn on her heel, Lexi marched out of the house, followed by the two Snapes and Lily.

"Got them?" Rose asked and Lexi nodded brightly, before picking up a rather long stick from the front of the house and cast 'portus'.

"Isn't that illegal?" Sirius asked.

"Yup." Lexi said, before holding it out in front of her. "Grab on, we'll be at the Tonks' in a jiffy!" they did so, Petunia, Michael and Rose looking slightly sceptical, before there was a jerk at their naval and they vanished, leaving Spinners Way bare once again.

XoOoX

Hello, Jazz here with another reading story.

Part of this is based off '**universal shift**', an amazing fanfic by **Koldrian**. Mainly the part about retrieving people from the past and gathering them to read, along with another idea which shall be shown later on, but this is also basically a normal 'reading the books' fanfic, with my favourite OC, Lexi.

Lexi is in another fanfic, as you should know, but I have many different scenarios surrounding her and events in the book, so instead of deciding on one, I have decided to include her story in two fanfics.

This chapter was surprisingly long, so don't expect them all to be as long as this is.

Thanks, and please review! ~Jazz


	2. Chapter 2

Molly Weasley was over the moon. She'd met her son, who was either dating a girl called Lexi or had a crush on her – it was that obvious – and was having a chance to change the future.

The changing the future part was what scared her, though only minutely. It meant someone obviously died, someone who she cared about. What if it was Arthur? Or Fabian and Gideon? What if it was her? She wasn't being selfish, oh no, but she wanted there to be a motherly figure for her children and, to her, family mattered more than money.

She had no qualms about changing the future, despite the fact it may mess up everything, unless they could destroy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named earlier than planned. Before death happened. From the way Percy had talked about it, there seemed to be two wars – this one they were fighting in now and one from where he came from and that confused her. Did the Dark Lord stop the war for a while, or did he die and – as unlikely as it seemed – come back again?

She didn't stumble when they landed in front of the Lupin's cottage, but placed a hand on her belly, merely to provide the baby – Percy – with some support. Looking at the young man who had provided her with this opportunity, she couldn't help but feel proud of the way she and Arthur had raised him.

"Remus, it may be better if you tell your parents what's going on. Meet me back here as soon as possible, ok?"

"Alright Percy." The lycanthrope beamed, before rushing to his home and inviting himself in.

Instead of standing in silence, Molly decided to question her son on his life – mainly, Lexi.

"So, who is this Lexi?" Percy sighed.

"She's a Slytherin, but not like the rest of them. She's ambitious, yes, but not so she'll crush anyone who gets in her way. She's a pureblood, and is part Italian, part Spanish, so has a habit of switching languages at random intervals." He smiled. "Her full name is Alexis Adrena Mortez. Her favourite food is stew, especially beef with carrots in it. Despite the fact her head of house is a potions master, she is not the best at potions, but her favourite subject is Defence Against the Dark Arts. She has outstanding OWLs in Charms, Defence, Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures, exceeds expectations in Ancient Runes, Potions and Astronomy and acceptable in Herbology. The only subject she didn't pass was History of Magic."

"You know a lot about her." Molly observed and Percy nodded.

"Yes. We were…close, when I was at Hogwarts and in her fifth year they hosted the Yule Ball at Hogwarts. She forced me into a dance with her." He laughed. "I was terrible. She didn't care – she looked like she was having the time of her life."

"You like her." Molly stated and Percy laughed again.

"Remus came to the exact same conclusion. After what I did, though…she's lost all love for me, probably." He sighed. "I may have promised I would propose to her in her last year, once the war was over. She was angry, annoyed. Before that she asked if…if…" His words became choked in his throat and Molly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I may not have met her yet, but Alexis sounds like a wonderful, intelligent young woman."

"She's three years younger than me." Percy said and Molly smiled, shaking her head.

"Age doesn't matter in love." She commented. "If you work hard enough, she'll forgive you for whatever you have done, no matter how terrible."

"Everything I did, I did for her…for us." Percy said, a small smile gracing his features as he looked at the cottage they were standing in front of. "I'm going to work hard. I'm going to hear how much she hated me throughout these books, but I'll make her forget it. I'll get her to love me again." On that last word, Remus left the house, his parents following again.

"Mum, Dad, this is Percy. Lexi isn't here at the moment – we'll meet her soon."

"Pleasure to meet you – it's John and Selena, right?"

"Serena." Mrs. Lupin corrected. She looked a lot like her son, the same coloured hair with soft, chocolate brown eyes. John had dark brown hair with Remus' ochre eyes. Percy had thought it was a werewolf thing, apparently, it was hereditary.

"Ok, I'm going to make another portkey – we were supposed to be at the Tonks' five minutes ago." Percy said, looking at his watch, before casting 'portus' on the broom again. "Hold on." They did so and with a weird feeling at his naval, Percy found himself vanishing from the Lupin's cottage.

XoOoX

Petunia stumbled as her feet hit the ground, only stopping falling flat on her face as Severus grabbed her elbow. She smiled slightly in thanks at the boy, before looking around at her surroundings.

The house was normal looking, a simple cottage on the outskirts of the nearby town. It didn't look like a magical house and her entire perspective on wizards and witches was tweaked slightly. She had to admit, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with that Sirius, nor Lexi, apart from the fact she came from the future.

"Ugh, he should be here now!" Lexi groaned, pacing up and down. "I swear I might strangle Percy!"

"I don't want to get you out of Azkaban for murder, Lexi." Sirius teased and this, for some reason, caused the red head to burst into a fit of giggles, causing her companions to cast her concerned looks.

"What's Azkaban?" Rose asked, curiosity peaking. Severus answered her.

"The wizarding prison, guarded by Dementors. They suck all the happiness out of you."

"Then why is she laughing?"

"I don't know."

A minute later, another group of people appeared and Lexi stopped laughing.

"Percy! At last! You realise you're late, don't you, Mr. Headboy?"

"Yes, Lexi, I do know. You already know my Mum, Dad and brothers. These are-"

"Fabian and Gideon Prewett. I could tell straight away." Lexi held out a hand and each man shook it.

"And this is John and Serena Lupin. Lexi, why did you give me the wrong name?"

"I felt like it." Lexi clapped her hands together. "Okay, we just need to nab the Tonks' and head back to Potter Manor. We can collect Regulus with Dumbles and Minnie."

"Shall Remy and I get them, then?" Sirius asked, before linking arms with the lycanthrope, who rolled his amber eyes at his friend.

"Please." Percy said and waved them off down the path, Sirius inviting himself and Remus into the Tonks household.

"So, you're the famous Lexi," Molly said, smiling at the girl, who grinned back. "Percy's been telling me about you."

"I hope it's all the good stuff." She said, elbowing the boy in the side. "I have some bad deeds to my name. For example, I plotted a rebellion in my sixth year."

"You did what?" Both the Weasleys exclaimed and Lexi feigned confusion.

"I was sure you'd know, Percy, I mean, due to the head at the time." Percy glared at her, and Lexi retaliated by sticking her tongue out at him.

"I've been told you're highly intelligent," Molly said, before adding. "And in Slytherin."

"Wait, what?" Arthur, Fabian and Gideon said together, staring at the red head, who merely nodded.

"Yup. Slytherin all the way for me. Although most of my housemates are prats." She said. "I'd normally hang out with this idiot – he'd keep my sanity in check."

"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" Percy protested.

"What happened when he left Hogwarts, though?" Fabian couldn't help asking. "What did you do then?"

"That, my dear friend, is a tale for when we are reading." Lexi said.

"Oi, guys! We've got them!" Sirius was skipping out of the house, looking like he was on a sugar rush, with Remus and the Tonks' following.

Lexi still couldn't get over the fact that Andy, who had to be one of the most amazing people she had ever met, looked so much like her psychotic sister. Her hair was a softer brown than her sisters, though, her eyes warm.

Ted Tonks hadn't changed much, though he'd put on some more weight in her time. His blond hair looked slightly messy and his blue eyes were bright.

Nymphadora Tonks had changed greatly. She was about Charlie's age, her hair long and lilac, tied in pigtails, her eyes a brilliant, hot pink. Lexi watched in amusement as Petunia's mouth opened into an 'o' shape in surprise.

Dora toddled over to Lexi and stared up at her with curious eyes.

"Siri says you're from the future. Are you?" Lexi knelt down to look at Dora.

"Yep, I am." She said, before placing a finger to her lips. "Can you keep it secret, though? Shh?" Dora giggled and mimicked Lexi, making the 'shh' sound.

"Do you know me in the future?"

"You're like the big sister I never had." Lexi said and Dora's eyes grew wide, hair changing to lime green and in a braid down her back.

"I'm bigger than you?" Lexi laughed.

"Yup, you're much bigger than me. Even bigger than Percy." Lexi stage whispered the last part, ignoring the indignant huff from Percy and grinned when Dora giggled.

"So, you must be Alexis?" Andromeda picked up Dora and placed her on her hip.

"Yes and you're Andromeda Tonks, nee Black." Lexi chimed, holding her hand out and shaking the elder woman's hand. "I can call you Andy, right? That's what you ask me to call you in the future, anyway."

"Of course, that's fine." Andy smiled, before Ted came over.

"Hello. Ted Tonks."

"Lexi Mortez."

Percy eventually came over, grinning.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Tonks." Andy smiled.

"Please, Percy. Call us Andy and Ted."

"Yeah, you're not working at the Ministry anymore, are you? Nudge nudge, wink wink." Lexi said, nudging in time with her saying said word.

"Sometimes, I do worry about your sanity." Percy said, sighing. "Ok, we need to head back to Potter Manor – hopefully Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore will be there already, along with the Potters."

"We can apparate there." Molly stated. "We know where it is. We can side-along a few."

"Ok, Andy, you know where it is, right? You can take Dora. Molly, take Charlie, Arthur take Bill. John, can you take Remus, if Serena takes Severus. Okay, let's see…" Lexi did some quick maths in her head, Percy watching her in slight amusement. "Gideon, can you take Rose? Fabian, Michael. Ted, can you take Eileen? "

"I could take one, Lexi."

"Whatever, Percykins. Can you take Lily? I'll nab Petunia."

"No-one is going to 'nab' me!"

"Don't push it, Petty. Okay, everyone hold on and we'll be there in a jiffy!" And, on that last word, the pathway in front of the Tonks' cottage was left clear once more.

XoOoX

"We're ba-ack!" Lexi chimed, allowing Petunia to gain her bearings before skipping into the living room. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw most of the staff of Hogwarts there. "Oh…hello."

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling as they always had done in life. He looked only slightly younger, but still had the air of wisdom beyond his age emanating around him. A serene smile was fixed on his face and Lexi glanced towards the nest member of staff.

Minerva McGonagall hadn't changed at all, still stern, still formidable, still a full blooded Gryffindor and Lexi couldn't have been happier. She was sure the corners of the witches lips were twitching slightly at the Slytherin's entry, but Lexi couldn't care much.

Flitwick was still as tiny as ever and still looked remarkably intelligent. She decided he would always remain her favourite teacher.

Sprout was still messy, though considerably younger and fresh faced. Her hair was cut short and her eyes twinkled as she observed the girl.

Slughorn hadn't changed. At all. He was still the size of an elephant, though she would never say that to his face. He still looked jolly, though, and was studying her intently. Lexi was silently begging he wouldn't mention the Slug Club.

"So, you must be Miss Mortez," Dumbledore said. "And I can tell you know all of us from the future."

"Yes, sir." Lexi said, inclining her head slightly. "You're professor Dumbledore, of course. The woman sitting next to you is Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house, a true lion." Minerva smiled at her description and Lexi was glad it was seen as a flattering comment. "There's Professor Flitwick, charms professor and head of Ravenclaw house. Professor Sprout, herbologist and head of Hufflepuff and last, but not least, Professor Slughorn, head of my own house, Slytherin, and current potions master."

"I wouldn't take you as a Slytherin." Minerva commented, studying Lexi intently. "More like a Ravenclaw, or even a Gryffindor." Lexi shrugged.

"Sorry, professor, but my heart belongs to Slytherin."

"Lexi, we need to get Reg!" Percy walked through the doors, nodding politely to all the professors, aside from Dumbledore, who he stared at for a while, before inclining his head slightly. "Would any of you mind coming?" Slughorn stood up at this point.

"I assume I'll have to come." He said. "He is, after all, one of my Slytherins."

"I'll be joining you as well." Dumbledore said, rising to his feet.

"Brilliant!" Lexi chirped. "If you wouldn't mind, professor Slughorn, could you go through first?"

"Of course." The professor nodded, before grabbing a pinch of Floo powder, throwing it into the grate and bellowing '12 Grimmauld place!"

He vanished in a blaze of green flames.

XoOoX

Regulus shuffled awkwardly in his seat as his mother and father began to discuss something with his grandfather. His cousins, Bellatrix and Narcissa were whispering to each other, every now and then breaking off into giggles of some sort. Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa's fiancée, was also there, having a discussion with his father.

Regulus had never felt more alone in his life – normally he and Sirius would be plotting a prank of some sort, ready to pull it off on Bella, Cissy or Lucy. But no, Sirius had traded him for James Potter and Reg was now left to suffer on his own. He missed his brother, he really did.

"Oh, good evening, Horace." Regulus glanced up to see his potions professor step in through the fireplace, looking as jolly as ever.

"Same to you, Walburga." He smiled. "Though, I'm afraid I have to bring your so-"

There was a yelp from the fireplace as a rush of red hair and green robes tumbled, head first, onto the floor.

"Note to self – do not do Floo. Ever. Again." The person looked up and Regulus had to admit, she looked rather pretty. She had a pale, slightly rounded face, with a scar running down the left side of her face. Her eyes were a brilliant blue and her hair was a vibrant red. "Uh, oops…I came in too soon, huh?"

"Who, exactly, are you?" Lucius asked and as the girl turned to face the man, her face lit up into a brilliant beam and she jumped to her feet.

"Oh, Mr Malfoy…and Mr Malfoy." She bowed to both of the Malfoys, who looked rather taken aback by her eagerness and the fact that she knew their names. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Alexis Adrena Mortez."

"Now, Lexi…"

"Please, professor…I know everyone in this room, even if not in personal terms."

"How…?" Regulus questioned and Lexi turned to face him.

"It's a very…um, confusing tale? Yes, let's go with that."

"You're a half-blood, aren't you?" Bellatrix questioned, sneering slightly.

"Nope." Lexi stated, causing Regulus' cousin to look taken aback. "I'm a pureblood. Part Spanish, part Italian, but that shouldn't matter, because technically, all wizards are, in some way, related to the founders of Hogwarts. Now, where was I –"

"Excuse me?" Orion was studying her sceptically. "What are you talking about?" Lexi paused for a moment, seemingly considering something.

"Tell you what – if you all would care to join me in reading about the future –"

"The future!"

"Yes, Narcissa, the future, my previous comment will make a lot more sense." Pollux stared.

"And why should we trust you?"

"Because I, dear Pollux, am from the future."

Cries of outrage and disbelief followed this statement and Slughorn looked slightly exasperated.

"WAIT!" The yell from Abraxas quieted the cacophony and the Malfoy turned to face Alexis, who looked calm and collected. "If you are going to read about the future, why choose us?"

"Because all but two of you in this room are to die." She said and at this, murmurs of unrest broke out amongst those seated. "Three of you help in the downfall of the Dark Lord – who is a half-blood, by the way." The murmurs grew louder. "Oh, and the boy we're going to read about is Dorea's grandson, thus related to all of you."

"We'll go." Pollux made the final decision, standing up. "I haven't spoken to Dorea in a long time. And I want to read about my grandchild."

"Well, now that that's sorted, we shall be returning to Potter Manor…we're going to have to move to Hogwarts. Meh, Dumbles will have to take the wards down." Lexi beamed, before grabbing some Floo powder (Regulus wondered how on earth she knew where it was kept) before throwing it into the fireplace and yelling "Potter Manor!"

When she was gone, everyone seated turned to stare at Slughorn, who merely sighed and said "Yes, she's always like that."

XoOoX

BAM! Second chapter up! Sorry this took ages and, yes, I was lazy, but the next update should be up sooner than this one.

I got the ideas portrayed in the scene at 12 Grimmauld Place from **Dark Serpent Cat**, which I thought were brilliant, so I am going to be using them.

So, the last readers from this time are now collected – they just need to get them to Hogwarts without any maiming. That'll be fun.

Please read and review to keep me writing! ~ Jazz


	3. Order of the Phoenix Dudley Demented

**I OWN NOTHING IN BOLD! THAT'S ALL JKR'S WORK! I ONLY OWN LEXI!**

**XoOoX**

After a lot of arguing, especially between the Tonks', Sirius and the Blacks, those who couldn't care less about the rivalry (Percy, Lexi, the Hogwarts teachers and the Prewett brothers) managed to get the entire group to Hogwarts.

"Are we going to be reading in the Great Hall?" Andy asked, Dora perched on her hip, the little girl's eyes wide. Bill and Charlie had the same look of awe on their faces.

"No, dear Andy." Lexi said, before Percy could nod his head. The Weasley turned to give Lexi a curious look. "There's another place we can go…somewhere which will provide us all the requirements we need." Her eyes twinkled, before she skipped down the corridor, the rest of the group following her, most rather bemused at her behaviour.

They stopped in front of a tapestry – one which they knew portrayed Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls to dance ballet. To their confusion, Lexi began to walk back and forth, in front of the wall opposite the tapestry, appearing to be deep in thought.

So, when Regulus let out an exclamation of shock as a door appeared in the wall, he wasn't the only one who was staring at Lexi in disbelief. The girl smiled slightly.

"We hid here during my sixth year. You'll find out why in the first book we read." She said, before opening the door and ushering everyone in.

When the final person had walked through, being a confused Percy, she closed the door. Lexi couldn't help but smile at the room created.

There were chairs, sofas and beanbags (Dora had claimed the hot pink one immediately, changing her hair to match) scattered around in a mostly circular shape, a coffee table in the centre which Remus had placed the book on. There was a roaring, red brick fireplace and above it was the most beautiful feature, Lexi had to admit.

The picture was of the DA. She had done it unconsciously, but there they were. Fred and George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Dean, Seamus and all the rest. But her eyes were immediately drawn to the boy standing in the middle. The one whose parents were standing in the room. She was doing this for him, so that he could grow up and live a normal childhood. Lexi swore she saw him beam and wink at her, but it must have been her imagination, as once she returned her gaze to him again, he was wearing the same determined expression as he was before, shuffling from foot to foot.

"Who are they?" Arthur asked, examining the picture, Molly coming up next to him.

"Some of the bravest people I have ever met." Was Lexi's reply, smiling as everyone stared at her, besides from Percy, who looked slightly abashed. He, obviously, wasn't on that picture.

"You're there." Petunia observed. "The one with the two twins with ginger hair." Her index finger pointed to the younger replica of Lexi who had an uncharacteristic serious expression, until picture George nudged her ribs, causing a smile to twitch on the paintings face.

"Yep." Lexi said, beaming. "The good old days. Anyway, take a seat." She waved a hand carelessly, before collapsing on a sofa, Percy taking a seat next to her.

Soon, the rest of the readers were sitting. It came to Rose's attention that there were a few extra seats, but shrugged it off.

"Alright, who wants to re-"Lexi was cut off by a flash of red and gold light, which soon cleared to reveal a letter. She blinked once, twice, before reaching out a taking the letter. Her eyes grew wider and wider as she read down.

"What?" Percy whined, attempting to read over her shoulder. Lexi soothed his curiosity by reading aloud.

"Dear Readers,

We understand that you are here with a book about the future, along with two guests from the current future. We say current, as you now have a chance to create a new and better future. It is rare that we allow this to happen, but we feel that it would be for the best in this instance.

We do not feel that only those gathered now are important to the cause, so other readers will be joining you, thanks to our help. Some of these readers will be familiar to those in this room, others not as such. Four play no major part, but as they have something to do with the school, they have a right to join you as guests.

After this reading, three of the readers brought here will be allowed to remain in this timeline – two have already been chosen, one shall be up to your decision.

Remember that those who join you will most likely have no idea what you are talking about, or what they have done or are going to do.

Yours,

The Stag, The Terrier and The Otter."

Lexi had an idea to who the writers were. The names rang a bell, and she knew how they were related to three people she knew. The Slytherin couldn't help allowing her eyes to flicker towards the picture above the fireplace. Neville was grinning out of the picture at her, and saluted her jauntily.

"I wonder who the readers are." Eileen mused, before a light flashed yet again, this time in the colours of all the houses.

The first person (or people) Lexi saw made the girl have to hold back a squeal. Fred and George, about seventeen, stood there. They looked confused and as soon as they looked at Percy, their lips curled into a sneer. Yes, they were definitely in their last year at Hogwarts. As soon as they caught Lexi's eye, she shook her head, mouthing 'I'll explain later.' They looked sceptical, but nodded all the same.

The third person was tiny. He had messy, black hair, round rimmed glasses and brilliant emerald eyes. His clothes were too big for him. A younger Harry Potter, about 5 or 6, was staring in slight fear at the people in the room.

The four older people made Lexi's eyes grow wide, her mouth openly gaping. No. Bloody. Way. The founders were here? Impossible! But there they were – dark haired and features well defined, her robes of deep blue matching her eyes exactly, was obviously Rowena Ravenclaw.

The second founder had fair hair and warm, kind chocolate brown eyes. Her robes were a brilliant yellow. Helga Hufflepuff was the qualities of Hufflepuff house personified.

Godric Gryffindor had the Weasley hair – brilliant red. His eyes were emerald green and he had a look of incorrigible strength. The trait of 'bravery' instantly hit Lexi.

The final, Salazar Slytherin, didn't look evil. He had dark hair, with molten silver eyes. His complexion was pale; his features pointed, yet did not hold the forbidding aura of someone who was pure evil. He was the man Lexi had always pictured him to be, the man she hoped would be proud of her.

The final person was a complete mystery to Lexi. He was a small boy – about 7 or 8 in age. His hair was dark; as were his eyes. He was tall for his age, but Lexi immediately thought small as he was thin and gaunt, his skin was pale, looking almost sickly. She heard Molly let out a gasp at the state of the child.

"Uh…gah…" Percy was speechless, which was to be expected. The four founders were supposed to be dead, but here they were, standing in front of him. Right now. Fortunately, Lexi seemed less tongue tied, enough to hold out the note to the person who must have been Salazar Slytherin and allowed him to read it.

The founder's eyebrows rose remarkably quickly, before he passed it onto his companions. Helga then passed it on to Fred and George, who looked at Lexi, realised she looked older and accepted it. When they passed it on to Harry, the boy flushed.

"I…c-c-can't r-r-read it." He stammered. Tears welled up in emerald eyes and he looked as though he expected to be hit. Lexi knelt down and held out her arms in a welcoming gesture.

"C'mere, kiddo." Percy couldn't help but admire the girl as Harry went to her, hesitant at first, but soon was burying himself into the warm embrace Lexi had wrapped him in. "You've leapt through time, Harry. You're one of my best friends in the future. We're going to stop you're parents from dying."

"Didn't they die in a car crash, though?" He asked, before whimpering and hiding deeper into Lexi's embrace as the twins and Percy let out cries of outrage.

"They didn't, little one. They died protecting you." She murmured, kissing the top of the boy's hair. "They were very, very brave, Harry. You're very, very brave, too."

The other boy looked enviously at the younger child. He had never had such affection, but he didn't resent the other child for getting it. He remembered what Amy had told him – 'how could anyone love a freak like you?' No one loved him…of course they didn't.

"Hey, come on over here." The boy was snapped out of his musings as Harry had been released from the older girls embrace and had gone over to the oldest red-head boy in his line of vision, who was looking at the red haired girl with pride. Hesitantly, he stepped forward. "I'm Lexi. I don't think I know your name – what is it, dear?"

"I'm Tom." He said shakily. "Tom Riddle."

XoOoX

Lexi had eventually managed to calm everyone down, a scared Tom clutching to the bottom of olive green robes, eyes wide. With a yell of 'ALL OF YOU ARE BLOODY PREJUDICED GITS!' they shut up. Percy, the twins and Dumbledore knew who Tom Riddle was, obviously – how the others knew, Lexi wasn't sure, but it was a possibility that those who were members of the Order of the Phoenix would know his origins. Then, those in the Black family who were blood supremacists knew that Riddle was not a pureblood name and were muttering between each other.

"If you do not mind me asking," Salazar spoke up. "But who, exactly, are you?"

"Lord Slytherin, it is an honour to meet you in person." Lexi curtseyed best she could with two young children clutching her robes. "I'm Alexis Mortez. This man behind me is Percy Weasley. There are also James, Sirius, Remus, Dorea, Charlus, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Dora, Andromeda, Ted, Filius Flitwick, Minerva McGonagall, Horace Slughorn, Pomona Sprout , Albus Dumbledore, Narcissa, Abraxas, Lucius, Bellatrix, Walburga, Orion, Pollux, Serena, John, Fabian, Gideon, Regulus, Petunia, Rose, Michael, Eileen and Severus gathered here, along with Fred and George, Tom and Harry."

"That's 44 people gathered." Rowena observed, one fine, dark eyebrow rising elegantly. "And from that letter, we are supposedly reading books about the future."

"To be technical, your future." Percy imputed. "Most of this is my and Lexi's past."

"Oh, it's going to show that…well…" Lexi's cheeks pinked slightly, but suddenly all colour drained from her face, eyes staring wide. "Oh, shit. And that moment…"

Almost unconsciously, her left hand ran slowly over the back of her right hand. Tom noticed there were words there, written in delicate, loopy handwriting; 'I must not support half-breeds.'

"What's that on your hand?" He asked and Lexi froze immediately, her hand stopping caressing her other. Percy was now curious.

"Lexi?"

"It's nothing."

"You're lying." He said, eyes narrowing. "Show me." Lexi shook her head furiously and Percy made to grab her hand.

"Percy! Don't!" Too late, Percy grabbed her right hand and pulled it towards him. His eyes widened at the intricately carved words, before his gaze turned murderous.

"Who did this?"

"It doesn't matter!" Lexi tried to jerk her arm away from his grasp, but he didn't slacken his grip.

"It bloody well does matter! I'll bloody kill the bastard who did this!" No one reprimanded his language, knowing that whatever was on Lexi's hand must be terrible.

"It's a bit late for that now, huh? Two bloody years late, Percy! Where were you when I needed you? At the bloody Ministry, sucking up to Mr Cornelius Fudge!" Percy flinched, as thought he'd just been slapped and Lexi glared, though she felt as though her stomach had just been jolted forward. That was a low blow.

"You're right." He sounded so dejected; Lexi immediately regretted what she said.

"Percy…"

"No, it's fine. You're right." He sat down on the sofa, staring disconsolately into the red and orange flames of the burning fireplace. "I wasn't there, I should have been. I…I…" He broke off and everyone knew he was probably holding back tears.

"Perce…" Lexi knelt down next to him, Harry and Tom finally releasing her from their grip. She ran a slender, pale hand over his back in a soothing gesture. Molly and Arthur exchanged knowing looks, while Gideon and Fabian were wondering how to tease those two once they'd finished with the books. "It's over and done. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"I shouldn't have left you and my family in the first place." That was whispered, Percy's voice hoarse, blue eyes tear filled behind horn rimmed glasses. He was surprised, to say the least, when Lexi flung her arms around his neck, in a gesture of comfort.

"But you came back." She murmured against his neck, causing goose bumps to travel up the back of his neck, heat pooling somewhere where he really didn't want it to be at this moment. "That's all that matters because I lo-"Lexi broke off, realising that they were in public and coughed hastily, before removing her arms around Percy's neck and sliding into the seat next to him.

"They'll get together by the end of the fifth year." James whispered.

"Sixth." Sirius said. "It's obvious Lexi likes him – she'll make the first move."

"Seventh." Remus said. "They're going to get together in the middle of the war, or at the end."

"Lexi's going to realise she likes him in fifth year, Percy will make the first move in sixth, but they won't officially get together until seventh, after the war." The Marauders were surprised to see Severus adding his judgement in. "What, can't I add an opinion in?"

"Truce?" Remus suggested and the other three boys exchanged glances, shrugged and nodded.

"Truce."

"Well? Are we going to read?" Bellatrix was getting impatient.

"Whatever. Oi, Lexi! Chuck the book over here, will you?"

Lexi grinned, grabbing the book and tossing it at Fabian, who got hit on the head, causing guffaws of laughter from the teens and giggles from the children. Molly covered her mouth with a hand while Arthur and Gideon were laughing openly.

Helga and Godric were looking on, slightly confused, yet smiled fondly all the same. Dumbledore had the twinkle in his eyes which he always had.

"So, Fabian, my friend, are you going to read or what?" Lexi asked, amusement lacing her voice as the red head mock scowled at her.

"Fine then, Mortez. The first chapter is…"

XoOoX

**Dudley Demented**

"Oh." Lexi said, placing a hand on Harry's back, who had settled himself onto the Slytherin's lap.

"Demented? As in…" Charlus trailed off as Lexi's face grew pale and she nodded slightly.

**The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. Cars **

"What are cars?" Rowena asked, quirking one delicate eyebrow.

"A Muggle form of transportation." Michael said. "It's quicker than walking."

**that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay parched and yellowing; the use of hosepipes had been banned due to drought. Deprived of their usual car-washing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of Privet Drive had retreated into the shade of their cool houses, windows thrown wide in the hope of tempting in a non-existent breeze. The only person left outdoors was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four.**

"Is that…?" Percy didn't have to finish his question, as Lexi shrugged slightly, though the inclination of her head told him that he as most likely right.

**He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time. **

"Really? I didn't notice!" Fred exclaimed.

"Same here, Forge." George added. Percy groaned, repeatedly banging the back of his head against the sofa as the Marauders and his uncles looked at the twins in interest.

**His jeans were torn and dirty, his T-shirt baggy and faded, and the soles of his trainers were peeling away from the uppers. **

Lexi let out a surprisingly threatening growl at the back of her throat, which slightly shocked Harry. He let out a whimper, which Lexi immediately noticed and calmed him by placing a soothing hand on his shoulder.

**Harry Potter's appearance did not endear him to the neighbours, who were the sort of people who thought scruffiness ought to be punishable by law,** **but as he had hidden himself behind a large hydrangea** **bush this evening he was quite invisible to passers-by. In fact, the only way he would be spotted was if his Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia **

Petunia's head shot up at the sound of her name. "Me? Why would he be with me?" Lily shrugged.

"I don't know…" She trailed off, before staring at little Harry. His eyes… "Dear Merlin, he's my son!"

"That must mean…hey James, you got her!" Sirius let out a whoop along with James and began to do a victory dance.

Lily was very pale, Severus looked sick, Remus was looking at Sirius with fondness and possibly something else but Lexi was just annoyed that James had forgotten that he married Lily in the future anyway.

**stuck their heads out of the living-room window and looked straight down into the flowerbed below.**

**On the whole, Harry thought he was to be congratulated on his idea of hiding here. He was not, perhaps, very comfortable lying on the hot, hard earth but, on the other hand, nobody was glaring at him, grinding their teeth so loudly that he could not hear the news, or shooting nasty questions at him, as had happened every time he had tried sitting down in the living room to watch television**

"Television?" Arthur asked, jumping in his seat in excitement.

"It shows people on it." Rose said. "Like moving pictures, but go on for a lot longer and don't just show one scene."

**with his aunt and uncle.**

Petunia gnawed on her bottom lip as accusing eyes turned to her.

"Why the hell would you do that to your own nephew?" Gideon asked. He was fond of both his nephews at the moment, and the twins and Percy didn't seem too bad. He wanted to get to know them more.

"How could you treat your family like that?" Helga looked outraged, but Rowena caught the look of guilt and confusion in Petunia's eyes and placed a calming hand on her friends shoulder.

Lexi merely moved up closer to Percy, nuzzling her head into the crook of his shoulder and neck, seeking comfort, wrapping Harry into an embrace as the child let out a slight whimper. Percy ran a hand through her hair and Tom, despite the fact he wasn't part of the small, makeshift family, sat next to the older girl and leaned against her side.

"It's ok." He said, surprising Lexi slightly. "They can't hurt him here. And they can't hurt you, either." His innocence melted Lexi's heart and she placed a soft kiss on the little boy's forehead. Tom's heart was racing a mile a minute. He'd never had anyone who loved him enough to do that before.

"I know, Tom. I know."

**Almost as though this thought had fluttered through the open window, Vernon Dursley, Harry's uncle, suddenly spoke.**

"**Glad to see the boy's stopped trying to butt in. Where is he, anyway?"**

"**I don't know," said Aunt Petunia, unconcerned. "Not in the house."**

"Tuney…" Lily looked heart broken.

"I'm sorry." The sister's reply was a whisper, head low. "I don't know what I'm doing."

**Uncle Vernon grunted.**

"**Watching the news…" he said scathingly. "I'd like to know what he's really up to. As if a normal boy cares what's on the news - Dudley hasn't got a clue what's going on; doubt he knows who the Prime Minister is!**

"Is that something he's supposed to be proud of?" Surprisingly, Bellatrix snarled, before letting out a huff of exasperation, throwing her hands into the air.

**Anyway, it's not as if there'd be anything about his lot on our news–"**

"**Vernon, shh!" said Aunt Petunia. "The window's open!"**

"**Oh - yes - sorry, dear."**

"I doubt they'll be listening in through the windows." Regulus drawled absently, ignoring the look of amazement his brother sent him.

**The Dursleys fell silent. Harry listened to a jingle about Fruit 'n' Bran breakfast cereal while he watched Mrs Figg, a batty cat-loving old lady from nearby Wisteria Walk, amble slowly past.** **She was frowning and muttering to herself.**

"Isn't Mrs Figg the squib?" Percy couldn't help but ask, and Lexi smacked his arm. "Ow, what was that for?"

"You're ruining the story!" Lexi hissed.

**Harry was very pleased he was concealed behind the bush, as Mrs Figg had recently taken to asking him around for tea whenever she met him in the street. **

"That's not very nice, Harry." Lexi scolded, tweaking his nose, showing she didn't mean it. Harry let out a laugh.

"I find Arabella a nice acquaintance." Albus mused. "I should go and visit her for tea at some point."

"She has a lot of cats." Harry said, wide eyed. "And I have to look at pictures of all of them!"

**She had rounded the corner and vanished from view before Uncle Vernon's voice floated out of the window again.**

"**Dudders out for tea?"**

"**At the Polkisses'," said Aunt Petunia fondly. "He's got so many little friends, he's so popular."**

Lexi let out something between a cough and a snort, Fred and George giggling soundlessly. Walburga looked slightly outraged by this behaviour, while most of the others were looking at the three with ill-disguised looks of curiosity on their faces.

**Harry suppressed a snort with difficulty. The Dursleys really were astonishingly stupid about their son, Dudley. They had swallowed all his dim-witted lies about having tea with a different member of his gang every night of the summer holidays. Harry knew perfectly well that Dudley had not been to tea anywhere; he and his gang spent every evening vandalizing the play park, smoking on street corners and throwing stones at passing cars and children.**

"Disgusting behaviour." Molly, Rose, Minerva, Helga and Rowena muttered under their breath.

**Harry had seen them at it during his evening walks around Little Whinging; he had spent most of the holidays wandering the streets, scavenging newspapers from bins along the way.**

"Do you have to do that often?" Narcissa's voice was soft and gentle as she addressed the younger boy, who shook his head.

"Can't read." He murmured. Andy couldn't help but shoot her younger sister a glance. She really did want to be a family again, but she had chosen her path, and them theirs. Ted took his wife's hand and squeezed it in comfort.

**The opening notes of the music that heralded the seven o'clock news reached Harry's ears and his stomach turned over. Perhaps tonight - after a month of waiting - would be the night.**

Lexi bit her bottom lip, looking slightly anxious.

"What is it?" Remus' quiet voice jolted her out of her thoughts, and Lexi merely shook her head.

"You'll find out soon enough."

**"Record numbers of stranded holiday makers fill air ports as the Spanish baggage-handlers' strike reaches its second week –"**

"**Give 'em a lifelong siesta, I would," snarled Uncle Vernon over the end of the newsreader's sentence, but no matter: outside in the flowerbed, Harry's stomach seemed to unclench. If anything had happened, it would surely have been the first item on the news; death and destruction were more important than stranded holidaymakers.**

"Death and destruction?" Pollux quirked an eyebrow, slightly confused. "I would expect the war to be over by then."

"Wait a second – a war is happening now?" Lexi questioned and, to her surprise, Lucius nodded.

"Yes. With that Lord Voldemort."

"And…you didn't hex us when we randomly appeared at your house in a flash of light?" She turned to Dorea and Charlus.

"Uh, Lex…you fainted. It was obvious you weren't an evil, psychotic maniac." Percy suggested. Lexi shot him a glare.

"Shut up, Weaselbee."

"Make me, Mortez."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Possibly." Percy smirked, while the others in the room watched in interest. Lexi merely smiled innocently and waved her wand under her sleeve.

"What was that? I didn't hear you Percy."

When he opened his mouth to speak, no words came out. Lexi had, indeed, managed to shut him up.

Harry was speechless as well as Tom.

"How did you do that?" Tom asked, staring. Lexi merely winked, before turning back to Fabian, ignoring a very red, very angry Percy.

**He let out a long, slow breath and stared up at the brilliant blue sky. Every day this summer had been the same: the tension, the expectation, the temporary relief, and then mounting tension again… and always, growing more insistent all the time, the question of why nothing had happened yet.**

"It sounds like he wants the war to happen." Abraxas observed.

"He does not." Fred immediately jumped to Harry's defence. "He wants the Ministry and their lackeys to realise that there's the bloody threat of war going on!" Percy cringed at that, flinching as his brother's eyes bore into him. Lexi took his hand, causing him to jump, but she merely squeezed it in some sense of comfort.

**He kept listening, just in case there was some small clue, not recognized for what it really was by the Muggles - an unexplained disappearance, perhaps, or some strange accident… but the baggage-handlers' strike was followed by news about the drought in the Southeast ("I hope he's listening next door!" bellowed Uncle Vernon. "Him with his sprinklers on at three in the morning!"),**

"Bet he was no better." Ted muttered.

"Sprinklers?"

"You pass water through pipes and they allow it to spread quite far and water things, sort of like rain."

**then a helicopter **

"Helicopter?" Salazar couldn't help but question.

"I like helicopters." Harry was almost not heard, and it was only due to the surprise most people showed at Salazar's question that he was. "They fly in the air and have big propeller thingies which move around to help it fly." His eyes grew wide. "Like those seeds from trees!"

"Sycamore seeds." Lexi clarified and Salazar nodded, looking rather interested at the excitement expressed by Harry when he talked about helicopters.

**that had almost crashed in a field in Surrey, then a famous actress's divorce from her famous husband ("As if we're interested in their sordid affairs," sniffed Aunt Petunia, who had followed the case obsessively in every magazine she could lay her bony hands on).**

Petunia cringed again. Everyone but her parents and, surprisingly, Lily, were ignoring her mostly, though Rowena and Lexi couldn't help but cast anxious or accusing glances at her every now and then.

**Harry closed his eyes against the now blazing evening sky as the newsreader said, "-and finally, Bungy the budgie has found a novel way of keeping cool this summer. Bungy, who lives at the Five Feathers in Barnsley, has learned to water ski! Mary Dorkins went to find out more."**

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Oh, honestly…"

**Harry opened his eyes. If they had reached water-skiing budgerigars, there would be nothing else worth hearing. He rolled cautiously on to his front and raised himself on to his knees and elbows, preparing to crawl out from under the window.**

**He had moved about two inches when several things happened in very quick succession.**

"Bad things?" Godric asked rhetorically.

**A loud, echoing crack broke the sleepy silence like a gunshot;** **a cat streaked out from under a parked car and flew out of sight; a shriek, a bellowed oath and the sound of breaking china came from the Dursleys' living room, and as though this was the signal Harry had been waiting for he jumped to his feet, at the same time pulling from the waistband of his jeans a thin wooden wand as if he were unsheathing a sword - but before he could draw himself up to full height, the top of his head collided with the Dursleys' open window.**

"Ouch." Bill said, rubbing his head.

**The resultant crash made Aunt Petunia scream even louder.**

**Harry felt as though his head had been split in two. Eyes streaming, he swayed, trying to focus on the street to spot the source of the noise, but he had barely staggered upright when two large purple hands reached through the open window and closed tightly around his throat.**

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?" Lexi screeched and Harry scrambled off her lap, situating himself between James and Sirius, both who were stunned. She jumped to her feet, marching towards the door.

"Lexi!" Remus had grabbed her arm.

"LET ME GO, REMUS! I'M GOING TO KILL THAT BASTARD!" Her eyes were wild, fury glimmering in them. Her hands were clenched into fists.

"No. You'll end up regretting it, Lexi." He said and Lexi managed to register the fact that he was as calm as ever.

"I won't regret it. I swear I won't."

"I'm afraid that Mr Lupin is right in this case, Miss Mortez." McGonagall's eyes were flashing menacingly, yet she regarded the girl with respect. "I don't know why you were put in Slytherin – such recklessness is a trait of my house."

"She's not in my house?"

"You're in my house?"

The two founders of Gryffindor and Slytherin asked together.

"I believe the talk of houses isn't exactly relevant." Lexi growled, wrenching her arm out of Remus' grasp, stalking back to the sofa where she originally sat, drawing her legs up to her chest once she had sat down, muttering under her breath.

"Relax, Lexi." Percy murmured. Lexi merely nuzzled herself closer to Percy and closed her eyes. "Shall we stop after this chapter?"

"I think that would be the best course of action." Pomona agreed, looking at Lexi with worry.

"**Put - it-away!" Uncle Vernon snarled into Harry's ear. "Now! Before- anyone - sees!"**

"**Get - off - me!" Harry gasped. For a few seconds they struggled, Harry pulling at his uncle's sausage-like fingers with his left hand, his right maintaining a firm grip on his raised wand; then, as the pain in the top of Harry's head gave a particularly nasty throb, Uncle Vernon yelped and released Harry as though he had received an electric shock. Some invisible force seemed to have surged through his nephew, making him impossible to hold.**

"He's still performing accidental magic?" Lucius couldn't help but raise a single eyebrow in slight amazement.

"Accidental magic?" Harry's voice was quiet as he asked the question.

"You're a wizard, Harry." Lexi replied, shocking some people as they though she had fallen asleep. "Tom is one, too. You show signs of accidental magic – magic you don't know you're creating – until you start Hogwarts." Harry's brows furrowed.

"But in the books I've already started Hogwarts, so…how?"

No one had an answer for him.

**Panting, Harry fell forwards over the hydrangea bush, straightened up and stared around. There was no sign of what had caused the loud cracking noise, but there were several faces peering through various nearby windows. Harry stuffed his wand hastily back into his jeans and tried to look innocent.**

"It won't work." Percy couldn't help but splurt out and Fred and George nodded feverishly in agreement.

Harry pouted.

"**Lovely evening!" shouted Uncle Vernon, waving at Mrs Number Seven, who was glaring from behind her net curtains. "Did you hear that car backfire just now? Gave Petunia and me quite a turn!"**

**He continued to grin in a horrible, manic way **

Harry shivered and Lexi, who had opened her eyes, pulled a disgusted face.

**until all the curious neighbours had disappeared from their various windows, then the grin became a grimace of rage as he beckoned Harry back towards him.**

**Harry moved a few steps closer, taking care to stop just short of the point at which Uncle** **Vernon's outstretched hands could resume their strangling.**

A growl rumbled from Lexi, Remus and Sirius as the others narrowed their eyes.

"**What the devil do you mean by it, boy?" asked Uncle Vernon in a croaky voice that trembled with fury.**

"**What do I mean by what?" said Harry coldly. He kept looking left and right up the street, still hoping to see the person who had made the cracking noise.**

"**Making a racket like a starting pistol right outside our –"**

"**I didn't make that noise," said Harry firmly.**

**Aunt Petunia's thin, horsy face now appeared beside Uncle Vernon's wide, purple one. **

Lily tried to hold in her laugh, but failed spectacularly when Dora changed her appearance to look like those mentioned.

"How did you do that?" Tom asked, eyes wide.

"I'm a met-a-morph-ma-gus." Dora said, saying the word very slowly as she returned her appearance back to normal. "I can change my looks when I want to."

"Can you learn to be one?" Harry asked. Dora shook her head, much to the boy's disappointment.

**She looked livid.**

"**Why were you lurking under our window?"**

"**Yes - yes, good point, Petunia! What were you doing under our window, boy?"**

"Chilling out?" James couldn't help say sarcastically.

"'Chilling out?'" Salazar questioned. James, startled at being addressed by a founder, answered him.

"Relaxing."

"**Listening to the news," said Harry in a resigned voice.**

**His aunt and uncle exchanged looks of outrage.**

"**Listening to the news! Again?"**

"**Well, it changes every day, you see," said Harry.**

Many people snorted at this answer, or giggled like lunatics. The last one was from Fred and George, much to people's amusement.

"**Don't you be clever with me, boy! I want to know what you're really up to - and don't give me any more of this listening to the news tosh! You know perfectly well that your lot -"**

"**Careful, Vernon!" breathed Aunt Petunia, and Uncle Vernon lowered his voice so that Harry could barely hear him, "-that your lot don't get on our news!"**

"Wro-ooong!" Lexi chimed, smiling innocently.

"**That's all you know," said Harry.**

Even Petunia couldn't stifle the laugh that came out of her at that.

**The Dursleys goggled at him for a few seconds, then Aunt Petunia said, "You're a nasty little liar. What are all those -" she, too, lowered her voice so that Harry had to lip-read the next word, "- owls doing if they're not bringing you news?"**

"**Aha!" said Uncle Vernon in a triumphant whisper. "Get out of that one, boy! As if we didn't know you get all your news from those pestilential birds!"**

**Harry hesitated for a moment. It cost him something to tell the truth this time, even though his aunt and uncle could not possibly know how bad he felt at admitting it.**

"**The owls… aren't bringing me news," he said tonelessly.**

Lexi looked abashed.

"**I don't believe it," said Aunt Petunia at once.**

"**No more do I," said Uncle Vernon forcefully.**

"**We know you're up to something funny," said Aunt Petunia.**

"**We're not stupid, you know," said Uncle Vernon.**

"**Well, that's news to me," said Harry,**

Everyone erupted into a cacophony of chortles and laughs.

**his temper rising, and before the Dursleys could call him back, he had wheeled about, crossed the front lawn, stepped over the low garden wall and was striding off up the street.**

**He was in trouble now and he knew it. He would have to face his aunt and uncle later and pay the price for his rudeness, but he did not care very much just at the moment; he had much more pressing matters on his mind.**

**Harry was sure the cracking noise had been made by someone Apparating or Disapparating. It was exactly the sound Dobby the house-elf made when he vanished into thin air. Was it possible that Dobby was here in Privet Drive?** **Could Dobby be following him right at this very moment?**

"I highly doubt it was this…Dobby." Slughorn said, looking thoughtful.

"It wasn't." Lexi hummed.

**As this thought occurred he wheeled around and stared back down Privet Drive, but it appeared to be completely deserted and Harry was sure that Dobby did not know how to become invisible.**

"Invisibility cloak, perhaps." Orion suggested. Lexi, Fred and George didn't nod or shake their heads.

**He walked on, hardly aware of the route he was taking, for he had pounded these streets so often lately that his feet carried him to his favourite haunts automatically.**

**Every few steps he glanced back over his shoulder. Someone magical had been near him as he lay among Aunt Petunia's dying begonias, he was sure of it. Why hadn't they spoken to him, why hadn't they made contact, why were they hiding now?**

Lexi, Fred and George looked towards their shoes as though they were the most interesting things in the world.

**And then, as his feeling of frustration peaked, his certainty leaked away.**

**Perhaps it hadn't been a magical sound after all. Perhaps he was so desperate for the tiniest sign of contact from the world to which he belonged that he was simply overreacting to perfectly ordinary noises. Could he be sure it hadn't been the sound of something breaking inside a neighbour's house?**

"I doubt it." Bellatrix said, looking thoughtful.

**Harry felt a dull, sinking sensation in his stomach and before he knew it the feeling of hopelessness that had plagued him all summer rolled over him once again.**

**Tomorrow morning he would be woken by the alarm at five o'clock so he could pay the owl that delivered the Daily Prophet - but was there any point continuing to take it? Harry merely glanced at the front page before throwing it aside these days; when the idiots who ran the paper finally realized that Voldemort was back it would be headline news, and that was the only kind Harry cared about.**

Percy flinched yet again, cringing slightly, as back then he had been one of those 'idiots'.

**If he was lucky, there would also be owls carrying letters from his best friends **_**Lexi**_**, Ron and Hermione, though any expectation he'd had that their letters would bring him news had long since been dashed.**

"Why weren't you sending him news?" Sirius asked, narrowing eyes slightly.

"We'd promised we wouldn't." Lexi said, looking defiant. "And Owls could be intercepted – we didn't want information reaching the wrong hands."

**We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously… We've been told not to say anything important in case our letters go astray… We're quite busy but I can't give you details here…**

"That would be annoying." Charlie said.

**There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you…**

**But when were they going to see him? Nobody seemed too bothered with a precise date.**

"That's because we didn't know the date ourselves."

**Hermione had scribbled I expect we'll be seeing you quite soon inside his birthday card, but how soon was soon? As far as Harry could tell from the vague hints in their letters, Hermione and Ron were in the same place, presumably at Ron's parents' house.**

"Nope, we weren't at The Burrow." Lexi said, sighing. "Despite the fact that place is amazing."

The Weasleys blushed at this.

**He could hardly bear to think of the pair of them having fun at The Burrow when he was stuck in Privet Drive. In fact, he was so angry with them he had thrown away, unopened, the two boxes of Honeydukes chocolates they'd sent him for his birthday.**

"How could you do that, Harry?" Remus mock wailed. "Two boxes of perfectly good chocolate, wasted!" Harry giggled.

**He'd regretted it later, after the wilted salad Aunt Petunia had provided for dinner that night.**

"Serves him right."

"REMUS!"

"Sorry, Lils."

**And what were **_**Lexi,**_**Ron and Hermione busy with? Why wasn't he, Harry, busy? Hadn't he proved himself capable of handling much more than them? Had they all forgotten what he had done?**

"No, of course not." Lexi said in defiance.

**Hadn't it been he who had entered that graveyard and watched Cedric being murdered, and been tied to that tombstone and nearly killed?**

"What the hell does it mean, nearly killed?" Dorea growled, suddenly possessive. Harry shuddered.

"I get nearly killed? And someone else got killed?" Lexi frowned.

"Yes." She whispered. "Yes. By Voldemort."

**Don't think about that, Harry told himself sternly for the hundredth time that summer. It was bad enough that he kept revisiting the graveyard in his nightmares, without dwelling on it in his waking moments too.**

"It must have been awful." Helga murmured, looking at the little boy with worry.

**He turned a corner into Magnolia Crescent; halfway along he passed the narrow alleyway down the side of a garage where he had first clapped eyes on his godfather. Sirius,**

"I'm his godfather?"

"You're my godfather?"

The two stared at eachother in disbelief while James shook his head.

"Of course you'd be godfather, Pads. You're my best mate – along with Wormy and Moony." Remus sighed.

"Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, my being godfather is impossible." Lexi sighed.

"Can you be my uncle or something, then?" Harry asked, looking at Remus with wide green eyes.

"If you want me to." Remus replied and, at that, the five year old scrambled across Sirius and latched onto the werewolf, hugging the boy. Remus looked slightly apprehensive, but ran a soft hand down the back of the little boy, Lexi smiling at the affection given.

"He deserves this, doesn't he?" Lexi whispered to Percy.

"Who?"

"Both of them. Rem needs to know he's valued, Harry needs to know he is loved." Percy nodded.

"You're right as always."

**at least, seemed to understand how Harry was feeling. Admittedly, his letters were just as empty of proper news as Ron and Hermione's, but at least they contained words of caution and consolation instead of tantalizing hints:**

**I know this must be frustrating for you… Keep your nose clean and everything will be okay… Be careful and don't do anything rash…**

Remus, James, Lily and practically everyone who knew Sirius closely burst out laughing.

"This, coming from my brother?" Regulus laughed, crying with mirth.

"I can be responsible!" Sirius defended himself, pouting when Remus almost howled with laughter.

"Pads, you aren't fooling anybody." Remus spluttered out. Harry and the younger children giggled along with everyone else, even if they didn't know what they were laughing about.

**Well, thought Harry, as he crossed Magnolia Crescent, turned into Magnolia Road and headed towards the darkening play park, he had (by and large) done as Sirius advised. He had at least resisted the temptation to tie his trunk to his broomstick and set off for The Burrow by himself.**

"That would've been an incredibly stupid thing to do." Fred said. "Right, Gred?"

"Absolutely, Forge."

**In fact, Harry thought his behaviour had been very good considering how frustrated and angry he felt at being stuck in Privet Drive so long, reduced to hiding in flowerbeds in the hope of hearing something that might point to what Lord Voldemort was doing. Nevertheless, it was quite galling to be told not to be rash by a man who had served twelve years in the wizard prison, Azkaban,**

"What?" Sirius went pale and began to tremble.

"What's Azkaban?" Tom asked in almost a whisper.

"It's a terrible place." Remus answered, taking Sirius' hand and squeezing it in comfort. "For terrible crimes. Dementors – things which suck out your soul – are guards."

"If you think about it, we really are barbaric." Lexi said, ignoring cries of outrage from some of the Black family. "I mean, Muggles in Britain abolished the death penalty years ago and yet we, who are supposed to be more…advanced than Muggles, are still willing to do something much worse to criminals. Not to mention those who didn't even get a trial." Lexi whispered the last part under her breath.

**escaped, attempted to commit the murder he had been convicted for in the first place, then gone on the run with a stolen Hippogriff.**

Remus sighed, exasperated, while James laughed. "Sounds like something you'd do, Pads." Sirius smiled shakily.

"Who did I try to…y'know?" He asked Lexi.

"It should be explained." She said, smiling comfortingly. "But you couldn't have killed them, anyway. You're too…good to do that."

**Harry vaulted over the locked park gate and set off across the parched grass. The park was as empty as the surrounding streets. When he reached the swings he sank on to the only one that Dudley and his friends had not yet managed to break, coiled one arm around the chain and stared moodily at the ground. He would not be able to hide in the Dursleys' flowerbed again.**

**Tomorrow, he would have to think of some fresh way of listening to the news. In the meantime, he had nothing to look forward to but another restless, disturbed night, because even when he escaped the nightmares about Cedric he had unsettling dreams about long dark corridors.**

_So that's when it started – before he'd even gone back to Hogwarts,_ Lexi realized.

**All finishing in dead ends and locked doors, which he supposed had something to do with the trapped feeling he had when he was awake. Often the old scar on his forehead prickled uncomfortably,** **but he did not fool himself that Ron**_** or Lexi**_** or Hermione or Sirius would find that very interesting any more. **

"We would." Lexi and Sirius said together. "We'd want to know if anything bad was happening to Harry." Harry blushed slightly, hiding his face in the robes of the lycanthrope he was currently clinging to.

**In the past, his scar hurting had warned that Voldemort was getting stronger again, but now that Voldemort was back they would probably remind him that its regular irritation was only to be expected… nothing to worry about… old news…**

"Every bit of information is useful." Rowena said along with Flitwick.

**The injustice of it all welled up inside him so that he wanted to yell with fury. If it hadn't been for him, nobody would even have known Voldemort was back!**

"Back?" Abraxas questioned. "As in, he was gone?"

"It's a long story." Percy said.

"Y'see, Voldy was defeated once before when he went to ki-" Lexi slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Kill someone? Who?" Charlus asked. Lexi shook her head madly, eyes wide.

"Please tell us! We might be able to stop it." James asked and Lexi nearly broke down just looking at him. It hit James right then. "It's me, isn't it? Me and Lily." Lexi nodded.

"I'm so, so sorry." She whispered. Sirius clung onto James, Charlus and Dorea ran over to their son, while Lily was hugged by Severus and Petunia, her parents hovering close by.

"There's nothing you could've done." James said. "And we're not dead yet – we can stop this." He looked Lexi in the eye. "What were you saying?"

"Voldemort came to your house at Godrics Hollow." Lexi said. "He…killed you both and…tried to kill…H-Harry, but it didn't work. He died. Or at least, we thought he was."

"There should be a full summary of what happened in the book, hopefully." Percy said.

**And his reward was to be stuck in Little Whinging for four solid weeks, completely cut off from the magical world, reduced to squatting among dying begonias so that he could hear about water-skiing budgerigars! How could Dumbledore have forgotten him so easily? Why had Ron**_**, Lexi**_** and Hermione got together without inviting him along, too?**

"We weren't allowed!" Lexi protested at the accusing looks sent at her.

**How much longer was he supposed to endure Sirius telling him to sit tight and be a good boy; or resist the temptation to write to the stupid Daily Prophet and point out that Voldemort had returned? These furious thoughts whirled around in Harry's head, and his insides writhed with anger as a sultry, velvety night fell around him, the air full of the smell of warm, dry grass, and the only sound that of the low grumble of traffic on the road beyond the park railings.**

"The descriptions really are beautiful." Lily said. "Makes you feel like you're actually there."

**He did not know how long he had sat on the swing before the sound of voices interrupted his musings and he looked up. The streetlamps from the surrounding roads were casting a misty glow strong enough to silhouette a group of people making their way across the park. One of them was singing a loud, crude song. The others were laughing. A soft ticking noise came from several expensive racing bikes that they were wheeling along.**

"That's Dudley." Harry said almost immediately. "He always gets nice things." He sounded rather put out at this.

"What about you, Harry? Do you get nice things?" Andy asked, and Harry shook his head.

"Auntie and Uncle don't want to buy me nice things." Petunia got evils sent at her and she flinched.

"WILL YOU ALL LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!" Lily yelled, and everyone who was glaring flinched backwards. "She hasn't done anything yet! And I'm sure she wouldn't do it now!" Petunia nodded feverishly.

Everyone obeyed Lily. She was a very scary lady.

**Harry knew who those people were. The figure in front was unmistakably his cousin, Dudley Dursley, wending his way home, accompanied by his faithful gang.**

**Dudley was as vast as ever, but a year's hard dieting and the discovery of a new talent had wrought quite a change in his physique.**

Lexi raised an eyebrow. She hadn't met Dudley Dursley, but knew from listening to Harry and the Weasleys that he was enormous.

**As Uncle Vernon delightedly told anyone who would listen, Dudley had recently become the Junior Heavyweight Inter-School Boxing Champion of the Southeast. 'The noble sport', as Uncle Vernon called it, had made Dudley even more formidable than he had seemed to Harry in their primary school days when he had served as Dudley's first punching bag. **

"I'll use him as a punching bag."

"Sirius!"

"Sorry, Rem."

**Harry was not remotely afraid of his cousin any more but he still didn't think that Dudley learning to punch harder and more accurately was cause for celebration.**

"Hardly."

**Neighbourhood children all around were terrified of him - even more terrified than they were of 'that Potter boy' who, they had been warned, was a hardened hooligan and attended St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys.**

"Haha…it's a joke, right?" Lexi asked blandly. "Harry here is a wimp – he doesn't like stealing, and if he does, he spills to someone eventually. He's harmless too…unless you're a Death Eater, then you're in trouble."

**Harry watched the dark figures crossing the grass and wondered who they had been beating up tonight. Look round, Harry found himself thinking as he watched them. Come on… look round… I'm sitting here all alone… come and have a go…**

"Don't go looking for trouble." Lily chided in a motherly tone.

**If Dudley's friends saw him sitting here, they would be sure to make a beeline for him and what would Dudley do then? He wouldn't want to lose face in front of the gang, but he'd be terrified of provoking Harry… it would be really fun to watch Dudley's dilemma, to taunt him, watch him, with him powerless to respond… and if any of the others tried hitting Harry, he was ready - he had his wand. Let them try… he'd love to vent some of his frustration on the boys who had once made his life hell.**

"I can see what he means." Severus whispered. He would have loved to get back at the Marauders, but seeing the three of them practically clinging to each other, with a bond much stronger than blood, he felt his fury dissipate. And Lexi didn't mind them and she was a Slytherin – maybe he should stop following and pestering them, and they'd stop pestering him?

**But they didn't turn around, they didn't see him, they were almost at the railings. Harry mastered the impulse to call after them… seeking a fight was not a smart move… he must not use magic… he would be risking expulsion again.**

"Again?" Minerva asked.

"It wasn't him who performed the magic." George explained. "It was a house-elf."

"Why was a house-elf there?"

"Long story."

**The voices of Dudley's gang died away; they were out of sight, heading along Magnolia Road.**

**There you go, Sirius, Harry thought dully. Nothing rash. Kept my nose clean. Exactly the opposite of what you'd have done.**

"So true." Remus and Regulus sighed. Sirius cuffed the lycanthrope around the head. "Ow!" Harry laughed at the bewildered look on Remus' face as he stared at Sirius, who was smirking in challenge.

**He got to his feet and stretched. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon seemed to feel that whenever Dudley turned up was the right time to be home, and any time after that was much too late.**

At this, everyone rolled their eyes.

**Uncle Vernon had threatened to lock Harry in the shed if he came home after Dudley ever again,**

"Deep breaths, Lexi." Percy said, soothing the Slytherin. "Calm down, this hasn't happened yet."

**so, stifling a yawn, and still scowling, Harry set off towards the park gate.**

**Magnolia Road, like Privet Drive, was full of large, square houses with perfectly manicured lawns, all owned by large, square owners who drove very clean cars similar to Uncle Vernon's.**

**Harry preferred Little Whinging by night, when the curtained windows made patches of jewel bright colour in the darkness and he ran no danger of hearing disapproving mutters about his 'delinquent' appearance when he passed the householders. He walked quickly, so that halfway along Magnolia Road Dudley's gang came into view again; they were saying their farewells at the entrance to Magnolia Crescent. Harry stepped into the shadow of a large lilac tree and waited.**

"… **squealed like a pig, didn't he?" Malcolm was saying, to guffaws from the others.**

"Git."

"Padfoot…"

"It's the truth, Moony!"

"**Nice right hook, Big D," said Piers.**

"**Same time tomorrow?" said Dudley.**

"**Round at my place, my parents will be out," said Gordon.**

"**See you then," said Dudley.**

"**Bye, Dud!"**

"**See ya, Big D!"**

"Big D, honestly!" James scoffed. "What a rubbish nickname!"

"Prongs!" Lexi and Lily chimed in unison, before making antlers with their hands and sticking them on their heads. James pouted while Remus and Sirius laughed.

**Harry waited for the rest of the gang to move on before setting off again. When their voices had faded once more he headed around the corner into Magnolia Crescent and by walking very quickly he soon came within hailing distance of Dudley, who was strolling along at his ease, humming tunelessly.**

"**Hey, Big D!"**

**Dudley turned.**

"**Oh," he grunted. "It's you."**

"**How long have you been 'Big D' then?" said Harry.**

"**Shut it," snarled Dudley, turning away.**

"**Cool name," said Harry, grinning and falling into step beside his cousin. "But you'll always be** '**Ickle Diddykins' to me."**

"Ickle Diddykins?" Lexi squeaked, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"**I said, SHUT IT!" said Dudley, whose ham-like hands had curled into fists.**

**"Don't the boys know that's what your mum calls you**?"

"**Shut your face."**

"**You don't tell her to shut her face. What about 'Popkin' and 'Dinky Diddydums', can I use them then?"**

Most of the teenagers, children and childish adults (Fabian and Gideon) had erupted into laughter.

**Dudley said nothing. The effort of keeping himself from hitting Harry seemed to demand all his self-control.**

**"So who've you been beating up tonight?" Harry asked, his grin fading. "Another ten-year-old? I know you did Mark Evans two nights ago -"**

"Evans?" Lily looked up curiously at her father.

"I doubt he's a relation." Michael said.

"**He was asking for it," snarled Dudley.**

"**Oh yeah?"**

"**He cheeked me."**

"**Yeah? Did he say you look like a pig that's been taught to walk on its hind legs? Cause that's not cheek, Dud, that's true."**

"Oh, Harrykins!" Fred guffawed. Harry giggled slightly while Tom was having a giggling fit.

**A muscle was twitching in Dudley's jaw. It gave Harry enormous satisfaction to know how furious he was making Dudley; he felt as though he was siphoning off his own frustration into his cousin, the only outlet he had.**

"I do that with Crabbe and Goyle – it's amusing to watch them try to understand what I'm saying." Lexi said, ignoring the warning look Percy shot her.

**They turned right down the narrow alleyway where Harry had first seen Sirius and which formed a short cut between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. It was empty and much darker than the streets it linked because there were no streetlamps. Their footsteps were muffled between garage walls on one side and a high fence on the other.**

"**Think you're a big man carrying that thing, don't you?" Dudley said after a few seconds.**

"**What thing?"**

"**That - that thing you are hiding."**

**Harry grinned again.**

"**Not as stupid as you look, are you, Dud? But I s'pose, if you were, you wouldn't be able to walk and talk at the same time."**

Percy let out a snort of amusement.

**Harry pulled out his wand. He saw Dudley look sideways at it.**

"**You're not allowed," Dudley said at once. "I know you're not. You'd get expelled from that freak school you go to."**

"It's not a freak school!" The founders yelled in outrage.

"It took is years to create Hogwarts!" Godric exclaimed.

"I spent some of my best years there." Serena reminisced.

"I met my proper family there." Lexi said, grinning at the Wealeys, Remus, Sirius and Harry.

"I can't wait to go." Tom murmured.

"**How d'you know they haven't changed the rules, Big D?"**

"**They haven't," said Dudley, though he didn't sound completely convinced.**

**Harry laughed softly.**

"And that's his creepy laugh." Lexi announced.

"**You haven't got the guts to take me on without that thing, have you?" Dudley snarled.**

"**Whereas you just need four mates behind you before you can beat up a ten year old.**

The Marauders cringed slightly at that, casting slightly apologetic looks towards Snape at that – they didn't want to be like Dudley, but it sounded too…similar.

**You know that boxing title you keep banging on about? How old was your opponent? Seven? Eight?"**

"**He was sixteen, for your information," snarled Dudley, "and he was out cold for twenty minutes after I'd finished with him and he was twice as heavy as you. You just wait till I tell Dad you had that thing out –"**

"**Running to Daddy now, are you? Is his ickle boxing champ frightened of nasty Harry's wand?"**

"**Not this brave at night, are you?" sneered Dudley.**

**"This is night, Diddykins. That's what we call it when it goes all dark like this."**

Lexi snorted.

"**I mean when you're in bed!" Dudley snarled.**

**He had stopped walking. Harry stopped too, staring at his cousin.**

**From the little he could see of Dudley's large face, he was wearing a strangely triumphant look.**

"**What d'you mean, I'm not brave when I'm in bed?" said Harry, completely nonplussed. "What am I supposed to be frightened of, pillows or something?"**

"This is about the nightmares, isn't it?" Percy whispered and Lexi nodded.

"**I heard you last night," said Dudley breathlessly. "Talking in your sleep. Moaning."**

"**What d'you mean?" Harry said again, but there was a cold, plunging sensation in his stomach.**

**He had revisited the graveyard last night in his dreams.**

"Not dreams – nightmares." Eileen corrected.

**Dudley gave a harsh bark of laughter, then adopted a high-pitched whimpering voice.**

"'**Don't kill Cedric! Don't kill Cedric!' Who's Cedric - your boyfriend?"**

"That little-"

"Lexi!" The three older Weasley boys had gathered around the Slytherin in an attempt to calm her down.

"Relax – this is in the past." George, the much more tactful of the twins, said.

"That little brat doesn't even know what happened!" She said. "And Cedric…he didn't deserve to…to die."

"We know." Percy said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We know."

"**I - you're lying," said Harry automatically.**

**But his mouth had gone dry. He knew Dudley wasn't lying - how else would he know about Cedric?**

"**Dad! Help me, Dad! He's going to kill me, Dad! Boo hoo!"**

"Ok, that does it – Dursley is DEAD!" Sirius yelled, jumping up, only to have Remus clamp a hand on his shoulder.

"I hate to point this out, Siri, but he isn't born yet." Sirius huffed, flopping back down into his seat, crossing his arms and muttering under his breath.

"**Shut up," said Harry quietly. "Shut up, Dudley, I'm warning you!"**

"**Come and help me, Dad! Mum, come and help me! He's killed Cedric! Dad, help me! He's going to - don't you point that thing at me!"**

"No, hex him into oblivion!"

"Nymphadora!"

"Don't call me Nymaphadora, mum!"

**Dudley backed into the alley wall. Harry was pointing the wand directly at Dudley's heart. Harry could feel fourteen years' hatred of Dudley pounding in his veins - what wouldn't he give to strike now, to jinx Dudley so thoroughly he'd have to crawl home like an insect, struck dumb, sprouting feelers…**

"That would be nice." Lily sighed dreamily.

"But it is illegal." Filius reminded the girl, who sighed in disappointment.

"**Don't ever talk about that again," Harry snarled. "D'you understand me?"**

"**Point that thing somewhere else!"**

"**I said, do you understand me?"**

"**Point it somewhere else!"**

"**DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"**

"**GET THAT THING AWAY FROM -"**

**Dudley gave an odd, shuddering gasp, as though he had been doused in icy water.**

"What happened?" Michael asked.

"The chapter title!" Severus exclaimed in realisation.

"Dementors." John confirmed.

**Something had happened to the night. The star-strewn indigo sky was suddenly pitch black and lightless - the stars, the moon, the misty streetlamps at either end of the alley had vanished. The distant rumble of cars and the whisper of trees had gone. The balmy evening was suddenly piercingly, bitingly cold. They were surrounded by total, impenetrable, silent darkness, as though some giant hand had dropped a thick, icy mantle over the entire alleyway, blinding them.**

Lexi let out an involuntary whimper at the description. Percy grabbed her hand and squeezed it in comfort. She grasped his fingers as though they were a lifeline.

**For a split second Harry thought he had done magic without meaning to, despite the fact that he'd been resisting as hard as he could - then his reason caught up with his senses - he didn't have the power to turn off the stars. He turned his head this way and that, trying to see something, but the darkness pressed on his eyes like a weightless veil.**

"Oh my gosh…" Petunia was trembling and Lily grabbed her arm, eyes wide with fear.

"I…I've got to spend t-t-twelve y-y-years with them…" Sirius' statement ended with a whimper and her grabbed onto Remus, who drew an arm around his friend, holding tighter onto Harry with the other, the boys arms wrapped around the lycanthrope's neck.

Percy was still holding Lexi's hand firmly, Lexi reciprocating it with just as much strength, her other arm wrapped around Tom, who leaned into the older girl, eyes wide and trembling with fear.

**Dudley's terrified voice broke in Harry's ear.**

"**W-what are you d-doing? St-stop it!"**

"**I'm not doing anything! Shut up and don't move!"**

"**I c-can't see! I've g-gone blind! I -"**

"**I said shut up!"**

**Harry stood stock still, turning his sightless eyes left and right. The cold was so intense he was shivering all over; goose bumps had erupted up his arms and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up - he opened his eyes to their fullest extent, staring blankly around, unseeing.**

"Dear Merlin." John whispered hoarsely, wrapping his wife into an embrace. Bella and Cissy clung to each other, Walburga and Orion were not showing any signs of comfort, though their hands were clasped together behind their backs. Ted had wrapped Andy in an embrace, whereas Dora, Charlie and Bill were sitting with Fred and George, staring with wide eyes.

The four founders were looking on at the scene with blank, shocked faces. They hadn't experienced these so-called Dementors but, looking at the reactions of their fellow readers, those from the future had. Salazar recalled Lexi's earlier words - _we really are barbaric. _There was definitely some truth in them.

**It was impossible… they couldn't be here… not in Little Whinging… he strained his ears… he would hear them before he saw them…**

"Good instincts." Pollux couldn't help but say.

"**I'll t-tell Dad!" Dudley whimpered. "W-where are you? What are you d-do—?"**

"**Will you shut up?" Harry hissed, "I'm trying to lis —"**

**But he fell silent. He had heard just the thing he had been dreading.**

**There was something in the alleyway apart from themselves, something that was drawing long, hoarse, rattling breaths. **

"Oh God, oh God, oh God." Lexi was chanting under her breath again, mind going back to the time on the Hogwarts Express in her fourth year, the freezing cold, the pleading for it to stop. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and froze when Percy released her hand from his grasp, only to relax slightly when he drew it around her shoulders and pulled the girl into an embrace.

**Harry felt a horrible jolt of dread as he stood trembling in the freezing air.**

"**C-cut it out! Stop doing it! I'll h-hit you, I swear I will!"**

"**Dudley, shut—"**

**WHAM.**

"They're doomed." James observed tactlessly, Harry letting out a whimper and clinging on tighter to Remus.

**A fist made contact with the side of Harry's head, lifting him off his feet. Small white lights popped in front of his eyes. For the second time in an hour Harry felt as though his head had been cleaved in two; next moment, he had landed hard on the ground and his wand had flown out of his hand.**

"Oh no." Lucius said, face pale. "He needs to find that wand, and fast!"

"**You moron, Dudley!" Harry yelled, his eyes watering with pain as he scrambled to his hands and knees, feeling around frantically in the blackness. He heard Dudley blundering away, hitting the alley fence, stumbling.**

"**DUDLEY, COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT!"**

**There was a horrible squealing yell and Dudley's footsteps stopped. At the same moment, Harry felt a creeping chill behind him that could mean only one thing. There was more than one.**

"This is bad. Bad, bad, bad." Arthur said, Molly clinging tightly onto his arm.

"**DUDLEY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Wand!" Harry muttered frantically, his hands flying over the ground like spiders.**

"**Where's - wand -come on -lumos!"**

"It won't work." Abraxas said.

**He said the spell automatically, desperate for light to help him in his search - and to his disbelieving relief, light flared inches from his right hand - the wand tip had ignited.**

"It worked." He amended, much to his surprise. That was powerful magic. No one seemed to notice, though, too gripped on the story.

**Harry snatched it up, scrambled to his feet and turned around.**

**His stomach turned over.**

**A towering, hooded figure was gliding smoothly towards him, hovering over the ground, no feet or face visible beneath its robes, sucking on the night as it came.**

Lexi was trembling like a blade of grass in a gale, along with Sirius.

**Stumbling backwards, Harry raised his wand.**

"**Expecto patronum!"**

**A silvery wisp of vapour shot from the tip of the wand and the Dementor slowed, but the spell hadn't worked properly; tripping over his own feet, Harry retreated further as the Dementor bore down upon him, panic fogging his brain -concentrate–**

"Think of something happy, Harry." Remus whispered. "You need to."

**A pair of grey, slimy, scabbed hands slid from inside the Dementor's robes, reaching for him. A rushing noise filled Harry's ears.**

"**Expecto patronum!"**

**His voice sounded dim and distant. Another wisp of silver smoke, feebler than the last, drifted from the wand - he couldn't do it any more, he couldn't work the spell.**

"You can do it, love. You can do it." Lily urged the Harry in the book.

**There was laughter inside his own head, shrill, high-pitched laughter… he could smell the Dementor's putrid, death-cold breath filling his own lungs, drowning him - think… something happy…**

"You've done it before, you can do it again." Lexi whispered, barely audible.

**But there was no happiness in him… the Dementor's icy fingers were closing on his throat – the high-pitched laughter was growing louder and louder, and a voice spoke inside his head: "Bow to death, Harry… it might even be painless… I would not know… I have never died…"**

"Voldemort." Albus said.

**He was never going to see Ron**_**, Lexi**_** and Hermione again –**

**And their faces burst clearly into his mind as he fought for breath.**

"I'm his happy memory?" Lexi questioned herself, feeling slightly flattered.

"**EXPECTO PATRONUM!"**

**An enormous silver stag erupted from the tip of Harry's wand; its antlers caught the Dementor in the place where the heart should have been; it was thrown backwards, weightless as darkness, and as the stag charged, the Dementor swooped away, bat-like and defeated.**

"YES!" Cheers erupted from the teens.

"He did it!" Regulus cheered.

"Of course he did!" Remus was beaming. "How couldn't he not do it?"

**"THIS WAY!" Harry shouted at the stag. Wheeling around, he sprinted down the alleyway, holding the lit wand aloft. "DUDLEY? DUDLEY!"**

"There's still one left though…" Severus said, and suddenly the tension was thick once again.

**He had run barely a dozen steps when he reached them: Dudley was curled up on the ground, his arms clamped over his face. A second Dementor was crouching low over him, gripping his wrists in its slimy hands, prizing them slowly almost lovingly apart, lowering its hooded head towards Dudley's face as though about to kiss him.**

"Hurry, hurry, oh please, please, please hurry!" Rose whimpered.

**"GET IT!" Harry bellowed, and with a rushing, roaring sound, the silver stag he had conjured came galloping past him. The Dementor's eyeless face was barely an inch from Dudley's when the silver antlers caught it; the thing was thrown up into the air and, like its fellow, it soared away and was absorbed into the darkness; the stag cantered to the end of the alleyway and dissolved into silver mist.**

"They're gone – he's done it." Gideon sighed with relief.

**Moon, stars and streetlamps burst back into life. A warm breeze swept the alleyway. Trees rustled in neighbouring gardens and the mundane rumble of cars in Magnolia Crescent filled the air again.**

**Harry stood quite still, all his senses vibrating, taking in the abrupt return to normality. After a moment, he became aware that his T-shirt was sticking to him; he was drenched in sweat.**

**He could not believe what had just happened. Dementors here, in Little Whinging.**

"How did they get there?" Bellatrix asked.

"Someone sent them." Lexi muttered, rubbing her right hand absentmindedly.

**Dudley lay curled up on the ground, whimpering and shaking. Harry bent down to see whether he was in a fit state to stand up, but then he heard loud, running footsteps behind him.**

**Instinctively raising his wand again, he span on his heel to face the newcomer.**

"Please be someone good, please, please." Pomona pleaded.

**Mrs Figg, their batty old neighbour, came panting into sight. Her grizzled grey hair was escaping from its hairnet, a clanking string shopping bag was swinging from her wrist and her feet were halfway out of her tartan carpet slippers. Harry made to stow his wand hurriedly out of sight, but-**

"**Don't put it away idiot boy!" she shrieked. "What if there are more of them around? Oh, I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher!"**

"And that's the chapter over." Fabian announced, before another note floated down from the ceiling. Percy snatched it and began to read.

"Well, that was a gripping chapter, and there is one question that Sirius definitely wants answering – why did he get chucked in Azkaban? So, we are going to send you a passage about that – what people believed and the truth.

Enjoy!

The Stag, The Terrier and The Otter."

As soon as he had finished reading, a few sheets of parchment appeared in the boy's hands.

"Well." Percy said. "I guess I'm reading."

XoOoX

FINALLY! It is done! This chapter took longer to write than expected but still…it is done.

Anyway, next chapter shall be a few extracts from The Prisoner of Azkaban, specifically The Marauders Map, Cat, Rat and Dog, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, The Servant of Lord Voldemort and Hermione's Secret.

I am so grateful for all the reviews, favourites and alerts I'm getting! You guys are the best!

Anyways, please review and keep reading! ~Jazz


	4. The Truth Behind the Prisoner

**I OWN NOTHING IN BOLD! THAT'S ALL JKR'S WORK! I ONLY OWN LEXI!**

**XoOoX**

"Odd, this doesn't have a title…" Percy muttered, before shrugging and starting to read.

"**Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought…I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."**

"I always like Rosie." Sirius said, smiling. "Do you think I should offer to take her out for a meal next Hogsmeade weekend?"

"I doubt she'd accept it, Pads." Remus said in a joking manner, but Lexi detected a glint of jealousy in his amber eyes.

"**You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta," said Fudge gruffly. "The worst he did isn't widely known."**

"**The worst?" said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity. "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"**

"I…I murdered…" Sirius whimpered, looking very much like he'd just been smacked across the face.

"You didn't do it, Siri." Regulus piped up. "Lexi said so." Sirius nodded, looking slightly blank.

"**I certainly do," said Fudge.**

"**I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?"**

"**You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured Professor McGonagall. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"**

"Prongsy, of course!" Sirius said. "Oh, and Remus."

"Thanks, Padfoot." Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"**Naturally," said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here — ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"**

"Why do they always forget Rem?" Lily couldn't help but ask. "I mean, you are a very important part of your little group."

"To be frank, I have to agree with Miss Evans." Minerva said. "You three are almost always together."

"I don't know why they forget me." Remus said, shrugging. "I don't mind, to be honest."

"But you should!" Sirius draped an arm around the lycanthrope's shoulders, pulling him into his side. "Because without you, we would be nothing!"

"I feel so loved."

"As you should, Moony."

**Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Ron kicked him.**

"**Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course — exceptionally bright, in fact — but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers —"**

"But we are the best!" Fred and George said in unison, before high fiving each other.

"But then there are the Marauders." Lexi added, eyes twinkling mischievously as James opened his mouth to say something about them being the Marauders, but she placed a finger to her lips. The twins hadn't noticed the significance of their nicknames yet.

"Oh, yes. They were the best." Fred said.

"We owe them so much." George added.

"**I dunno," chuckled Hagrid. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money."**

"Why, thank you, Hagrid!" the twins chimed in harmony.

"**You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" **

"We are."

**chimed in Professor Flitwick. "Inseparable!"**

"**Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. **

"Not true!" James argued. "I trust Moony exactly the same!"

Remus blushed slightly.

**Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry.** **Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."**

"I know now!" Harry said excitably. "And I like it!" He promptly hugged his godfather-to-be, who returned it happily.

"'Course you do, Prongslet."

**"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.**

"Never!" Sirius crowed.

"Honestly, him? Working for You-Know-Who?" Bellatrix let out a derisive snort. "Puh-lease, he doesn't have what it takes."

Sirius didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"**Worse even than that, m'dear…" Fudge dropped his voice and proceeded in a sort of low rumble. "Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."**

"Fidelius charm?" Rowena asked, her eyes shining.

"Has it not been invented yet?" Lily couldn't help but ask.

"It's not invented until the late 13th century, right professor Flitwick?" Lexi couldn't help but ask. The tiny professor nodded.

"Correct, Miss Mortez."

"**How does that work?" said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.**

"**An immensely complex spell," he said squeakily, "involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find — unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!"**

"That sounds powerful." Salazar observed, raising an eyebrow.

"The thing is, the use of a Secret-Keeper isn't fool proof…" Lexi said, trailing off. "Due to the use of the Cruciatus curse – it can be tortured out of the holder. They may spill the location accidentally, say if they were drunk, or they could be drugged. Veritaserum – truth potion – doesn't work though."

"**So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.**

"**Naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die****rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself… and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."**

"**He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta.**

"Why would you suspect me?" Sirius couldn't help asking.

"I'm guessing that it was a time of fear back then and no one could be certain on who to trust." Albus replied, Percy humming in agreement.

"**He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements," said Professor McGonagall darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."**

"It's obviously not Siri." Remus said firmly. "He wouldn't do that."

"Thanks, Rem." Sirius murmured.

"**But James Potter insisted on using Black?"**

"**He did," said Fudge heavily. "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed —"**

"**Black betrayed them?" breathed Madam Rosmerta.**

"**He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. **

"Never." Surprisingly, Severus said. "Black wouldn't do anything like that.

Sirius was miffed. "Um…thanks?"

**But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colours as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it —"**

"**Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar went quiet.**

Sirius let his head droop.

"**Shh!" said Professor McGonagall.**

"**I met him!" growled Hagrid. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead… **

Harry let out a little whimper and clung to the robes of the lycanthrope a little more tightly.

**an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. **

Sirius' eyes grew wide. "Say, that's an idea…"

"No."

"But Mooooony…"

"No." Sirius pouted.

"You're no fun."

"I know."

**Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. **

"Of course I would be." Sirius said. "My best mate…my brother is dead…"

Regulus had never seen his brother look so downtrodden before and even Bellatrix and Narcissa found this side of their cousin quite scary. Walburga and Orion weren't too sure what to make of this situation, nor was Pollux.

**An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared.**

"**Hagrid, please!" said Professor McGonagall. "Keep your voice down!"**

"**How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'!** **An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him —' Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's.** **Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,' he says. I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for?**

"I'd do anything to make sure my godson was safe." Sirius said, frowning slightly. "That's all the reason I need, nothing more, nothing less."

**Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him.**

"**But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. **

"I WOULD NOT!"

"We know, Padfoot, we know – you're deafening Moons and Harry, though."

"Oh, sorry Moony."

**His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to em anymore…"**

**A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmerta said with some satisfaction, "But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!"**

"**Alas, if only we had," said Fudge bitterly. "It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew**

"Peter." Sirius' head shot up. "There's a possibility but – no, impossible, Pete wouldn't…"

"Pads…it's the only other option."

"There's got to be another, Prongs. There has to be."

— **another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."**

"**Pettigrew… that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?" said Madam Rosmerta.**

"Flattering description." Petunia muttered, Regulus managing to just hold back a snort.

"**Hero-worshipped Black and Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I — how I regret that now…" She sounded as though she had a sudden head cold.**

"You shouldn't regret it, professor." George muttered darkly, Fred nodding along in agreement.

"**There, now, Minerva," said Fudge kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses — Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later — told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens…"**

Sirius' eyes grew wide and he began to shake.

"Calm down, Siri." Remus murmured, rubbing his upper arm soothingly. "You didn't do it – remember that. You didn't do it."

**Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, "Stupid boy… foolish boy… he was always hopeless at duelling… should have left it to the Ministry…"**

"That, even I have to agree with, even if the Ministry is mostly filled with incompetent pricks." Lexi said, Percy smacking her across the head.

"Language, missy. And I'm not a prick!"

"Language, Percy." Lexi taunted.

"**I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I wouldn't've messed around with wands — I'd 've ripped him limb — from — limb," Hagrid growled.**

"Ouch." Was Charlie's intelligent input.

"**You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid," said Fudge sharply. "Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I — I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, **

"I laughed." Sirius said blankly, voice bland of emotion. "I laughed."

"Probably hysterically with grief." Minerva suggested weakly. "You know, running out of tears to cry, Mr Black."

"Yeah, that has to be it." Sirius drew a deep, shuddering breath. "It has to be."

**with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him… a heap of blood-stained robes and a few — a few fragments —"**

**Fudge's voice stopped abruptly. There was the sound of five noses being blown.**

"**Well, there you have it, Rosmerta," said Fudge thickly. "Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Black's been in Azkaban ever since."**

"And had no trial." Lexi muttered under her breath.

**Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh.**

"**Is it true he's mad, Minister?"**

"**I wish I could say that he was," said Fudge slowly. "I certainly believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the action of a cornered and desperate man — cruel… pointless. Yet I met Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them… but I was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me. It was unnerving. **

"That, I have to agree with." Remus said solemnly. "Sirius, being rational? What has the world come to?"

It took a few seconds for Remus' words to hit them, before the room practically exploded with laughter. It was a great relief. Sirius merely pouted and smacked Remus over the head, though there was no real force behind it.

**You'd have thought he was merely bored — asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed doing the crossword. Yes, I was astounded at how little effect the Dementors seemed to be having on him — and he was one of the most heavily guarded in the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night."**

"**But what do you think he's broken out to do?" said Madam Rosmerta. "Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to re-join You-Know-Who, is he?"**

"Nope." Lexi chimed.

"**I daresay that is his — er — eventual plan," said Fudge evasively. "But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing… but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again…"**

"Yet when he did, he didn't believe it." Fred muttered.

"Bloody hypocrite." Fabian added on.

**There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their glass.**

"**You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, we'd better head back up to the castle," said Professor McGonagall.**

**One by one, the pairs of feet in front of Harry took the weight of their owners once more; hems of cloaks swung into sight, and Madam Rosmerta's glittering heels disappeared behind the bar. The door of the Three Broomsticks opened again, there was another flurry of snow, and the teachers had disappeared.**

"**Harry?"**

**Ron's and Hermione's faces appeared under the table. They were both staring at him, lost for words.**

"That's the end of that extract." Percy said. "But there's more…should I keep reading?"

"Go ahead, Perce." Lexi said. "You've got the sheets, might as well finish reading them."

XoOoX

**"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE — SIRIUS BLACK — QUICK!"**

"That's a time skip." Tom observed, much to Lexi's amusement.

"Ah, the good old days." She sighed. "My first contact with the weird, everyday life of Harry Potter. I miss those days." People looked at the Slytherin as though she's been hit with a particularly heavy book.

**Black made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; Harry gripped his wand convulsively — Do it now! said a voice in his head —**

"Do what now?" Harry asked nervously. No one answered.

**but the footsteps were thundering up the stairs and Harry still hadn't done it.**

**The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room,** **his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready**_** Lexi skidding in after him, red hair a mess, her own wand gripped in her hand, prepared to hex or curse**_**. **

"You two will be able to have the entire situation cleared up." Helga said, being slightly optimistic.

"Unfortunately, nothing ever goes according to plan." Salazar butted in, causing the founder to scowl at him.

_**Their**_** eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, to Harry, standing there with his wand covering Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.**

"**Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted.**

"Siri is innocent!" Regulus cheered. "I knew it!"

"We all did." Andy said, rolling her eyes.

**Harry's wand flew once more out of his hand; so did the two Hermione was holding. Lupin caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Black, who still had Crookshanks lying protectively across his chest.**

**Harry stood there, feeling suddenly empty. He hadn't done it. His nerve had failed him. Black was going to be handed back to the Dementors.**

"A fate worse than death." John murmured under his breath.

**Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice.**

"**Where is he, Sirius?"**

**Harry looked quickly at Lupin. He didn't understand what Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about? He turned to look at Black again.**

**Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. Mystified, Harry glanced around at Ron, who looked bewildered. **_**Lexi's eyes seemed to cloud over slightly, as though working something out, before her eyebrows rose, her mouth forming an 'o' shape as her eyes cleared.**_

"I thought so…" James trailed off, sighing.

"**But then…" Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "… why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless" — Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see, "— unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?"**

**Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded.**

"You switched secret keepers." Charlus murmured, nodding slightly.

"**Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on —?"**

**But he never finished the question, because what he saw made his voice die in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixed at Black. The Professor walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother.**

"Aww, sweet!" Lily cooed and the two canine's promptly blushed furiously.

"Unfortunately, not the best time to do so." Godric said.

"Yeah, three of the people in that room aren't convinced Sirius is innocent yet." Eileen said.

**Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.**

"**I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed.**

**Lupin let go of Black and turned to her. She had raised herself off the floor and was pointing at Lupin, wild-eyed. "You — you —"**

"**Hermione —"**

"– **you and him!"**

"That sounds suggestive – something you're not telling us, Moony?" James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Remus turned red and spluttered slightly, before his eyes turned downcast. James stared, before realisation hit him. "Oh, Rem…"

Others in the room had come to the same conclusion as James and were staring in shock at the prefect, who looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"Hey, Rem." Sirius placed a comforting hand of the werewolf's shoulder. "It doesn't matter, we don't care. You're still the same Remus we all know and love."

"I just want to be normal." He said, cinching it for those who weren't sure what the revelation was. The lycanthrope buried his head into Sirius' robes, stubbornly holding back his tears. "I just want to be normal."

"**Hermione, calm down —"**

"**I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked. "I've been covering up for you —"**

"**Hermione, listen to me, please" Lupin shouted. "I can explain —"**

**Harry could feel himself shaking, not with fear, but with a fresh wave of fury.**

"**I trusted you," he shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering, out of control, "and all the time you've been his friend!"**

"_**You can trust him!" Lexi retorted, before cowering at the glare shot at her.**_

"_**How can I be sure you're not working with him," Harry responded coldly. "I can't be, can I?" Lexi spluttered, before becoming silent once more.**_

"Sometimes, I hate being a Slytherin. We suffer so much prejudice every single bloody day, just because Voldemort was in our house and it's not fair." Lexi exclaimed suddenly. "And then there's Rem now, who many people would avoid, just because he isn't just attracted to the opposite sex, then there's the Blacks, who are considered to be immersed in the dark arts and followers of the infamous Dark Lord, there are the brave Gryffindors, the smart Ravenclaws and the loyal Hufflepuffs. We are so immersed in stereotypes we forget that people are merely people. They have their own minds, their own feelings, but we refuse to see that!" She threw up her arms after her rant, before flopping backwards, letting out a huff of annoyance.

"**You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now — Let me explain…"**

"**NO!" Hermione screamed. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too — he's a werewolf!"**

The room was silent.

"And here's another proof of stereotypical junk!" Lexi exclaimed, sighing.

"You don't look like a werewolf though." Tom blurted out before he could stop himself, causing giggles from the other children in the room. "He doesn't, though! He looks like a person!"

"Exactly." James said, raising his head in defiance. "Remus is just as normal as everyone else here. And if you think otherwise, then I couldn't care less!"

"Agreed!" Sirius said, not releasing his comforting grip on the lycanthrope who was still hiding in his friend's robes.

"Of course." Lexi said. "I mean, honestly – Rem's the reason I'm working on equal rights."

"Equal rights?" Helga asked.

"For Muggleborns, half-breeds, the works." The Slytherin shrugged. "I don't like how I'm being treated, so why would others like it? Werewolves are what I'm starting on, thanks to Rem." The werewolf looked at Lexi with a watery smile.

"Thank you." She flushed slightly, but shrugged.

"It's nothing. Honestly."

**There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.**

"**Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead." An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."**

**Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, "Get away from me, werewolf!"**

"Oi!" James yelled.

"It was shock, probably." Percy defended his brother. "I mean, he's just found out his teacher's a werewolf, and he thinks he's working with a murderer – what would you do?" James sighed, resigned.

**Lupin stopped dead. **_**Lexi made a growling noise in the back of her throat, glaring at Ron through icy blue eyes. "There is nothing wrong with that!" **_

"You'd be one of the first to admit that." Severus had to say.

"It's the truth, though." Lexi said. "12 nights a year they turn into a monster – for the rest, werewolves are normal people. It's not like they're suddenly going to maul you in the middle of lunch, is it?" Remus let out a watery laugh at this, causing Sirius to smile as Harry began to giggle along with his surrogate uncle.

_**She snarled, but froze when Lupin clamped a hand on her shoulder.**_

"_**It's fine." He said, before removing his hand and**_**then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and said, "How long have you known?"**

**"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay…"**

"I'm a professor?" Severus couldn't help but ask.

"Yup." Lexi said. "The Potions Master." She ignored the twins miming throwing up behind her back.

"**He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant… Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the Boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"**

"Knowing Hermione, both." Fred said.

"**Both," Hermione said quietly.**

"I'm guessing she's very intelligent, then." Rowena said.

"The brightest witch of her age." Lexi said proudly.

**Lupin forced a laugh.**

"**You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."**

"**I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"**

"**But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."**

"**Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf," Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"**

"As a hatter." Lexi confirmed, much to the amusement of said headmaster.

"**Some of the staff thought so," said Lupin**_**, cutting off what was most likely to be a smart remark from Lexi**_**. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy —"**

"**AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!"**

"He just said earlier that he wasn't." Harry said, tilting his head. "Future me isn't listening, is he?"

"Future you is very angry." Narcissa told Harry. "He isn't listening to reason at the moment."

**He was pointing at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg.**

"**I have not been helping Sirius," said Lupin. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look —"**

**He separated Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner; Harry caught his, stunned.**

"It definitely shows that you aren't about to harm them." Serena said, still slightly miffed from the earlier revelation from her son, yet happy that there were people who weren't going to judge him for both of his secrets.

"**There," said Lupin, sticking his own wand back into his belt "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"**

**Harry didn't know what to think. Was it a trick?**

"**If you haven't been helping him," he said, with a furious glance at Black, "how did you know he****was here?"**

"**The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. **

The three Marauders promptly exchanged mischievous smiles.

**I was in my office examining it —"**

"**You know how to work it?" Harry said suspiciously.**

"**Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. **

At this, Fred and George's jaws dropped open.

"We were taught by a Marauder…" George said, flabbergasted.

"And are in the presence of two more." James said, holding his head high. Fred and George exchanged glances, before going down on their knees in front of their role models.

"We're not worthy, we're not worthy!"

**I'm Moony — that was my friends' nickname for me at school."**

"**You wrote —?"**

"**The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff was executed. **

Lily paled. "They were…going to…kill a Hippogriff…"

"But they didn't!" Lexi sang.

**And I was right, wasn't I?"**

**He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little patches of dust rose at his feet.**

"**You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry—"**

"**How d'you know about the cloak?"**

"**The number of times I saw James disappearing under it…" said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again.**

"**The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, **

"Wait, you have an invisibility cloak?" Fred's head shot up, staring in awe at James.

"Ah, the invisibility cloak…good times, good times." Lexi mused.

"Wait, you knew?" George sounded outraged as he turned on the Slytherin. "And you didn't tell us?"

"You nicked my toast back in fifth year." She replied. "I decided there was no reason to tell you."

"I hate you."

"Love you too."

**you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."**

"**What?" said Harry. "No, we weren't!"**

"**I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring Harry's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"**

"**No one was with us!" said Harry.**

"The rat was…" Slughorn trailed off. "Does it show pets?"

"Erm, not quite…" Sirius trailed off, looking rather sheepish.

"**And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labelled Sirius Black… I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow —"**

"**One of us!" Ron said angrily.**

"**No, Ron," said Lupin. "Two of you."**

"_**Indefinitely two of you." Lexi nodded in agreement.**_

"You like using long words, don't you?" Godric couldn't hide the amusement in his voice.

"Long words are cool." Lexi defended herself.

**He had stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over Ron.**

"**Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly.**

"**What?" said Ron. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"**

"**Everything," said Lupin. "Could I see him, please?"**

**Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing noise.**

"Wish he ate it." Lexi said absently.

**Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.**

"**What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do****with anything?"**

"**That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.**

"**What d'you mean — of course he's a rat —"**

"**No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."**

"**An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."**

There was a gripping silence over the room.

"He's not dead…" Filius trailed off.

"But he will be!" To everyone's shock, Sirius had leapt out of his seat and began to march towards the door.

"Siri!" Remus was there in a split second, Harry deposited on the sofa where they were once sat. "Please," Remus was standing in front of the Black heir, hands on his upper arms and staring directly into stormy grey eyes. "Don't go and do anything stupid. I'm going to lose you in the future and I can't…I can't…"

"You aren't going to lose me Rem." Sirius wrapped the werewolf in a hug, his voice sounding clogged. "I just…I don't want to go to Azkaban."

"And you won't." Surprisingly, it was Bellatrix that voiced this. "That pathetic excuse of a wizard won't know what hit him when he joins The Dark Lord."

"Wait a sec – can you, show me your left arm?" Lexi asked, thoughtfully. "Oh, and you too, Lucius and Narcissa."

The three complied and, upon seeing their blank forearms, couldn't help but smirk. It was a rather scary smirk, in fact.

"Oh, Lexi has a plan!" Fred looked excited.

"All shall be revealed – after the books." The twins pouted. "Carry on, Percykins!"

"Don't call me Percykins!"

XoOoX

"**Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself — until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's map never lies… Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."**

**Harry looked down at Ron, and as their eyes met, they agreed, silently: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. **

"That's normal." Lily said absent mindedly.

"Lily." The two whined in protest.

"Oh, sorry Rem, you're not."

Sirius pouted. "I hate you Lily, I really do."

**Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all — but why **_**were**_** Lupin**_** and, supposedly, Lexi**_** playing along with him?**

"Because I like tormenting Harrykins with information." Lexi chimed happily. Harry pouted.

"That's mean."

"She's a Slytherin – she lives with meaner people." George said wisely.

"Some are alright." Lexi said in thought. "The Greengrass sisters are fine, Theo and Blaise are too. Though most of the boys in my year are pigs." She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

**Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly.**

"**But Professor Lupin… Scabbers can't be Pettigrew… it just can't be true, you know it can't…"**

"I don't know, but after living with these two –" Percy gestured to the twins. "- you come to realise that almost anything is possible."

"Right you are, Perce." Lexi said, sighing at the beaming smiles on Fred and George's faces. "Right you are."

"**Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with Grindylows.**

"That voice annoys me." Sirius muttered. "It makes me feel stupid."

"That's because you can be." Remus sang, much to the Black heir's annoyance. Regulus couldn't help but laugh at the pout on Sirius' face.

"**Because… because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework — the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things… and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list."**

"Just because there's a list doesn't mean that he had to put his name on it." Bill reasoned.

"Though it is best to put your name on one." Molly said. "Else you'll get in big trouble."

**Harry had barely had time to marvel inwardly at the effort Hermione put into her homework, when Lupin started to laugh.**

"**Right again, Hermione!" he said. "But the Ministry never knew that here used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."**

"Oh, honestly…" Minerva turned her steely gaze on the three Marauders sat in the room, the werewolf looking sheepish and the other two smiling innocently. "If you have…"

"Us?" Sirius sounded outraged. "Honestly, Minnie, how could you?"

"Accusing us? Absurd!" James added.

"Guys…" Remus looked exhausted. "It's going to be revealed anyways."

"Moony, you've given the game up!" James cried, mock dying and falling onto the floor.

"How could you?" Sirius pretend wailed, causing Harry, Dora, Charlie, Bill and tom to burst into a fit of giggles.

"Why do I put up with you two?" Remus asked himself, though smiled fondly at the fake sobbing Sirius and the 'dead' James.

"**If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," said Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."**

"**All right… but you'll need to help me, Sirius," said Lupin, "I only know how it began…"**

**Lupin broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All **_**six**_** of them stared at it. Then Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing.**

"**No one there…"**

"**This place is haunted!" said Ron.**

"It's not." Remus said, sighing.

"**It's not," said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted… The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me."**

"Does it hurt, sir?" Tom asked, eyes wide. "Turning into a werewolf, I mean?"

"Tommy, it's answered soon, m'kay." Lexi said, ruffling the boy's hair. She looked Remus in the eye. "you don't need to answer."

"I will." Remus said, taking in a deep, shuddering breath. "It's beyond torture – it rearranges everything, not as smooth as the animagus transformation. Everything breaks and reforms, you feel yourself becoming covered in fur and it's all you can do to scream. Some don't even survive the first transformation." Tom was staring with so much, un hidden pity in his eyes.

"M'sorry."

"It's alright." Remus said. Everyone else was staring at the young man, even the Blacks. None could hide how shocked they were at the pain he had to go through.

"And there's no cure?" Petunia asked, angered that he had to go through the agony which no one should be forced to go through.

"No." Remus sighed. "Not as of now."

**He pushed his greying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment then said, "That's where all of this starts — with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten… and if I hadn't been so foolhardy…"**

**He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione, said, "Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently.**

"**I was a very small boy when I received the bite.**_**" Lexi took in a sharp intake of breath, eyes wide, as though she couldn't believe it. **_

"How old were you?" Michael asked.

"Six." Remus replied.

"**My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. **

"Wait, it says 'in those days' – does that mean..." Remus looked so hopeful it was heart breaking.

"Read on, Percy." Lexi said, not able to answer.

**The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform… I'm able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.**

"That's good, eh Moony." Sirius said, smiling.

"Better than nothing." Remus said, his eyes shining.

"**Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully-fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me.**

"Gits."

"Lexi!" Percy looked shocked at her language. The Slytherin smiled innocently back at him.

"**But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school…" Lupin sighed, and looked directly at Harry. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house" — Lupin looked miserably around the room, — "the tunnel that leads to it — they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."**

"At least you won't hurt anyone." Tom said. "That's good, isn't it?"

"Yes." Remus said. "That's very good."

**Harry couldn't see where this story was going, but he was listening raptly all the same. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice was Scabbers's frightened squeaking.**

"**My transformations in those days were — were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. **

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because it's an outlet – the wolf can smell the presence of humans who were once there, but can't attack them." Remus said. "It's a substitute."

"Not a suitable one, if you ask me." Petunia muttered.

**The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumour… Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it…**

"**But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black… Peter Pettigrew… and, of course, your father, Harry — James Potter.**

"The best friends in the entire world." Remus said, grinning madly.

"Oh, Rem, you're making me blush!" James said, hands covering his cheeks to hide a faux blush.

"Thanks, Rem." Sirius said, hugging the werewolf.

"**Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her…**

"To be honest, your excuses were lame." Sirius said. "Plus, when we saw your mum picking you up at the station for the summer, well…"

"And then your great aunt June died twice." James added.

"Terrible, Remus." Lexi said, shaking her head in mock shame. "Just terrible."

**I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione,**_** and you too, Lexi,**_** worked out the truth…**

"You worked it out?" Remus couldn't help but blurt out.

"Yup." Lexi said. "And I did it before 'Mione – my sole purpose in life is complete!" She let out a cackle, causing Percy to roll his eyes.

"**And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."**

"James…"

"Sirius…"

The two boys looked up at their parents, trying to look innocent and failing spectacularly.

"You actually became animagi?" Severus blurted out.

"Yes, we did!" Sirius announced, proud to see the shocked looks on the adults faces, before transforming into a big black dog.

"PADFOOT!" Harry squealed, launching himself at the dog and hugging him around the neck.

"He remembers Sirius' form." Lexi said, clapping her hands. "Oh goody!"

"What do you transform into, James?" Lily asked. James turned into a stag, which caused Lily to stare at him in awe. "Oh, wow."

The two showed off for a bit, before turning back into their human forms.

"You two are in…"

"Masses of trouble, blah blah. Don't worry, Minnie – we'll register after Hogwarts." Sirius said, waving the deputy headmistress off, ignoring her steely gaze.

"**My dad too?" said Harry, astounded.**

**"Yes, indeed," said Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school,** **and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong — one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."**

"As we have just seen." Dorea said, sounding rather faint.

"**But how did that help you?" said Hermione, sounding puzzled.**

"**They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals," said Lupin. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed… Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."**

"_**It would also stop him from hurting himself." Lexi imputed. "If werewolves are void of people to harm during the full moon, they would end up harming themselves – animals allow the wolf to vent some of its pent up energy to be released via play, if the animal is of the right type."**_

"And you know this, how?" John couldn't help but ask.

"I researched a lot once I found out the best professor we'd ever had was a werewolf." Lexi said. "I thought I might be able to find a cure of some sort, or at least get them equal rights. I researched that a lot during my sixth year – it annoyed my Defence teacher a lot."

"_**Lexi is right." Lupin nodded. "During the time I spent with those three around the grounds, I was less hurt, and less chance of there being a fatal injury inflicted upon me."**_

"**Hurry up, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face.**

"**I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there… well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night.**

"That's dangerous!" Lily said, gasping.

"And highly irresponsible." Minerva said, looking at all three boys.

"He would have killed himself in there, though!" Sirius argued. "Moony was getting agitated – he needed to get out, or else he would properly hurt himself!"

"Is that…even…?" Serena trailed off, staring at her son, who was looking at his shoes as though they were the most interesting things in the world. "Oh, honey…"

"It's fine, mum." Remus said. "I'm alive – and I live for a long time yet."

**Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did… And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."**

"**What sort of animal —?" **

"The nickname makes it sort of obvious, doesn't it?" Lexi commented dryly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." James said indignantly, promptly ignoring Lexi, Lily and Petunia making antlers from their hands and chiming 'Prongs' in unison, much to everyone's amusement.

**Harry began, but Hermione cut him off. "That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"**

"**A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless — carried away with our own cleverness.**

"You can say that again." Severus snorted.

"**I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course… he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed…"**

"Remus, you didn't lead us into becoming Animagi." Sirius said, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty. "We chose to become them. When you found out, you were bloody terrified, tried to talk us out of it and all."

"I should have done more." Remus said.

"You did just enough." James said, before the three boys had a group hug. Lily smiled at the three – their loyalty to each other was amazing.

**Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me… and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. **

"Which is completely unfair!" Lexi exclaimed, before muttering under her breath about 'bloody prejudiced prats.' Percy couldn't help but snicker at her.

**And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it… so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."**

"**Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers; for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"**

"**He's here, Sirius," said Lupin heavily. "He's teaching here as well." He looked up at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.**

"**Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defence Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons… you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me —"**

"Wait, WHAT?" The two exclaimed.

"This hasn't happened yet." Remus said.

"And it won't." Minerva turned her steely gaze on Sirius. "Will it, Mr Black?" Sirius shook his head vehemently.

"Of course it won't!"

**Black made a derisive noise.**

"**It served him right," he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to…****hoping he could get us expelled…"**

"**Severus was very interested in where I went every month." Lupin told Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "We were in the same year, you know, and we — er — didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field… **

Severus managed to stop himself from shaking his head just in time.

**anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be — er — amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it — if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf — but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life… Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was…"**

"**So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"**

"**That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin.**

**Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin.**

"That just about gave me a heart attack." Lexi confirmed.

"Erm…sorry?"

"You're forgiven. Now, read Percy, read!"

XoOoX

**Harry stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do or whom to believe. **_**Lexi was staring at Lupin, who was bound up on the floor, before turning to Professor Snape, her eyes full of hatred and venom.**_

"Ouch." Fabian visibly flinched.

"Professor Lupin is like, my father figure." Lexi said. "I wasn't about to let Professor Snape get away with that."

**He glanced around at Ron and Hermione. Ron looked just as confused as he did, still fighting to keep hold on the struggling Scabbers. Hermione, however, took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape — it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"**

"**Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter,**_** Mortez**_** and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. **

"That makes the situation sound worse than it was." Dora said.

"And he used my last name." Lexi said. "First time he did that."

**For once in your life, hold your tongue."**

"**But if — if there was a mistake —"**

"**KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"**

"Don't call Hermione stupid!" Lexi said, suddenly over protective of the girl in the books. "She's one of the cleverest people I know."

**A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face, **_**while Lexi's eye seemed to have gained twitch, a few silver coloured sparks jolting out the end of her wand at her Head of House's words**_**. **

"You were angry." Percy said, whistling.

**Hermione fell silent.**

"**Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you…"**

"**The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled.**

"Wow, you're using first names." Pomona said. The rivalry between the Marauders and Severus was well known amongst, well, just about everyone. "I'm amazed."

"**As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" — he jerked his head at Ron — "I'll come quietly…"**

"**Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the Dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black… pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay… I —"**

"Severus Tobias Snape." Eileen scolded. "You do not threaten to suck someone's soul out, no matter how much you hate them!"

"Sorry."

"Except with Voldemort." Lexi pointed out. "But does he even have a soul?"

**What little colour there was in Black's face left it.**

"**You — you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat — look at the rat —"**

**But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Harry had never seen before. He seemed beyond reason.**

"He was." Lexi chimed, unusually happy.

"**Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him too —"**

"That is taking it too bloody far!" James said, jumping to his feet, only to get pulled back down by Sirius and Remus. "No one, and I mean no one, can do that to Remus!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Uh, guys?" Percy felt like he should intervene. "You know this hasn't happened yet, right?" James muttered something under his breath, before sitting down again, resigned.

"_**No!" The cry was out of Lexi's mouth before she could stop it and Snape was stunned into a shocked stupor for a few seconds at the blatant disobedience displayed by one of his students.**_

"That's a first." Fred said, staring in amazement at Lexi.

"You managed to shock Snape!" George exclaimed, awe in his eyes. Lexi shrugged.

"It's no big deal."

**Before he knew what he was doing, Harry had crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door.**

"**Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape**_**, snapping out of his shocked state**_**. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin —"**

"**Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry said. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defence lessons against the Dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"**

"Becau-ause Moony is not an evil psychopath?" Lexi suggested innocently.

"**Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape**_**, ignoring yet again the growl which emerged from the back of Lexi's throat**_**. **

"Defensive, aren't you?" Helga said.

"To those who I consider my friends and family, yes."

**"Get out of the way, Potter."**

"**YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT****SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN —"**

**"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! **

"Future me is a git." Severus observed, cringing slightly.

"But you don't have to be a git anymore." Regulus pointed out.

**You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black — now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"**

**Harry made up his mind in a split second. Before Snape could take even one step toward him, he had raised his wand.**

"**Expelliarmus!" he yelled — except that his wasn't the only voice that shouted. There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.**

"Ouch." Sirius winced. "That's got to hurt."

**Harry looked around. Ron**_**, Lexi**_** and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. **

"In case you didn't guess, I panicked slightly." Lexi said, looking slightly sheepish.

**Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.**

"**You shouldn't have done that," said Black, looking at Harry. "You should have left him to me…"**

**Harry avoided Black's eyes. He wasn't sure, even now, that he'd done the right thing.**

"**We attacked a teacher… We attacked a teacher…" Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble —"**

"She needs to sort out her priorities." Lucius said, shaking his head.

**Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him**_**, Lexi taking out the tougher knots with a quick cutting charm**_**. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them.**

"**Thank you, Harry," he said.**

"**I'm still not saying I believe you," he told Lupin.**

"**Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Lupin. "You, boy — give me Peter, please. Now."**

**Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.**

"**Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean…" He looked up at Harry and Hermione for support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat — there are millions of rats — how's he supposed to know which one he is after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"**

"That is a good question." Orion remarked, Salazar nodding in agreement.

"**You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly.**

"**How did you find out where he was?"**

**Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.**

**It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.**

"**How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.**

"**Fudge," **

"The idiot." Fred said, shaking his head.

**said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry was…"**

**"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw…"**

"**What about it?" said Ron defiantly.**

"**He's got a toe missing," said Black.**

"**Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple… so brilliant… he cut it off himself?"**

"He…really did betray us…didn't he?" James said.

"Yes." Lexi said. "That was the reason we didn't invite him – I don't like people who betray those they consider to be their friends."

"**Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself — and sped down into the sewer with the other rats…"**

"**Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."**

"**Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right —"**

"**Twelve years, in fact," said **_**Lexi, her voice calm and concise**_**. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?**_** And the toe that's missing is on the exact same paw as the hand which Peter would have cut his finger off - his right hand.**_**"**

"You're a slight genius, you know that?" Narcissa couldn't help but say, causing the Slytherin to blush madly.

"_**It's a mere coincidence, the whole toe and finger thing and **_**we — we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.**

"**Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…"**

"**He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.**

**But that wasn't right, Harry thought suddenly… Scabbers had been looking ill before he met Crookshanks… ever since Ron's return from Egypt… since the time when Black had escaped…**_**and fortunately for him, Lexi voiced this.**_

"_**He's been looking ill since the summer." She said. "Before we'd even met Crookshanks."**_

"Since Siri escaped." Regulus said once again.

"**This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. **

"Wow, you complimented a cat." James said, causing Sirius to cuff him over the head.

"I don't mind cats." He said in his defence. "I just don't like it when they scratch you."

**He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me… Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me…"**

"How do you communicate with animals in an animagus form?" Bellatrix asked, insanely curious.

"Through body language." Minerva answered. "It's simple enough to translate."

"**What do you mean?" breathed Hermione.**

"**He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't… so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me… As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table…"**

"I don't think Neville ever got an apology from that." George pondered.

**Harry's brain seemed to be sagging under the weight of what he was hearing. It was absurd… and yet…**

"**But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it." croaked Black. "This cat — Crookshanks, did you call him? — told me Peter had left blood on the sheets…** **I supposed he bit himself… Well, faking his own death had worked once."**

**These words jolted Harry to his senses.**

"**And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"**

"**No," said Lupin, "Harry—"**

"_**You've got it wrong, Ha-" Lexi didn't have time to finish her statement.**_

"**And now you've come to finish him off!"**

"**Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.**

"Sirius…"

"Moony, this hasn't happened yet!"

"**Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.**

"**Harry," said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down — but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father — Sirius tracked Peter down —"**

"**THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"**

**He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly over bright.**

**"Harry… I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me…** **I'm to blame, I know it… **

"Black, I may not like you – but it is not your fault." Lily said sternly. "It's Peter's, ok?" Sirius nodded. Lily was one scary lady.

**The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house,** **destroyed, and their bodies… I realized what Peter must've done… what I'd done…"**

**His voice broke. He turned away.**

"**Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his voice Harry had never heard before.**

"Probably trying to get you to stop blaming yourself." Remus said.

"**There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."**

"**What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely.**

"**Force him to show himself," said Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."**

**Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head. "Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin.**

**Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.**

"**Together?" he said quietly.**

"Of course." Remus said, resting his head on Sirius' shoulder.

"**I think so", said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One — two — THREE!"**

**A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in mid-air, his small grey form twisting madly — Ron yelled — the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then —**

**It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. **

"That was really, really creepy." Lexi stated, shuddering.

**Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on his back was standing up.**

**He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione. His thin, colourless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Harry saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.**

"**Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him.**

"Ah, Moony, always the calm one." Sirius said fondly, ruffling the werewolf's hair. Remus glared at him.

"**Long time, no see."**

"**S—Sirius… R—Remus…" Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends… my old friends…"**

**Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning took, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.**

"**We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed —"**

"**Remus," gasped Pettigrew, and Harry could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…"**

"How can he do that?" Remus looked disgusted. "He killed James and Lily. And he's trying to get me to turn on Siri? That's just…" Remus trailed off, shaking his head in loathing.

"**So we've heard," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'll be so —"**

"**He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black, and Harry saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too… You've got to help me, Remus…"**

**Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.**

"**No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.**

"**Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"**

"I was resisting the urge to throttle him right there." Lexi said. "He was so bloody annoying!"

"**You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" said Lupin, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"**

"You've got him there." Andy said.

"**He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"**

**Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.**

"**Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said.**

**Pettigrew flinched as though Black had brandished a whip at him.**

"**What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Black. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"**

"**Don't know what you mean, Sirius —" muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now.**

"**You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter… They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them… I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep.****Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information… and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter —"**

"They'd kill him themselves." Ted said, nodding slightly.

"**Don't know… what you're talking about…" said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this — this madness, Remus —"**

"**I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly.**

"**Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban — the spy, Sirius Black!"**

**Black's face contorted.**

"**How dare you," he growled, sounding suddenly like the bearsized dog he had been. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter — I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us… me and Remus… and James…"**

"And it will be that way from now on." James said firmly.

**Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath.**

**"Me, a spy… must be out of your mind… never… don't know how you can say such a —"**

"**Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan… a bluff… Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you… It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."**

**Pettigrew was muttering distractedly; Harry caught words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy," but he couldn't help paying more attention to the ashen colour of Pettigrew's face and the way his eyes continued to dart toward the windows and door.**

"Good observations." Pollux said.

"**Professor Lupin?" said Hermione timidly. "Can — can I say something?"**

"**Certainly, Hermione," said Lupin courteously.**

"**Well — Scabbers — I mean, this — this man — he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"**

"**There!" said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"**

"'Cause there was nothing in it for you." Gideon said.

"**I'll tell you why," said Black. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to re-join him…"**

"_**A trick worthy of Slytherin." Lexi said, though disgust was clear in her voice as she looked in revulsion at the man.**_

"Right then, I wanted to smack him. Across the face. And break his nose." Lexi said.

**Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.**

"**Er — Mr Black — Sirius?" said Hermione.**

**Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her.**

"**If you don't mind me asking, how — how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"**

"**Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I —"**

**But Lupin silenced him with a look**_**, similar to those which Lexi used when people got in the way of her and her breakfast**_**. **

At this, everyone couldn't help but laugh.

"It's the most important meal of the day." Lexi defended.

"And it is one scary look." Fred said, shivering slightly.

**Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he were annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering his answer.**

"**I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me… but it kept me sane and knowing who I am… helped me keep my powers… so when it all became… too much… I could transform in my cell… become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…" He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions… They could tell that my feelings were less — less human, less complex when I was a dog… **

"So they couldn't drain you of them." Godric assumed. "You were able to stay sane."

**but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand…**

"**But then I saw Peter in that picture… I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry… perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again…"**

**Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hypnotized.**

"… **ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies… and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honours…**

"**So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive…"**

**Harry remembered what Mr Weasley had told Mrs Weasley. "The guards say he's been talking in his sleep… always the same words… 'He's at Hogwarts.'"**

"Peter was at Hogwarts." Arthur said.

"**It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it… It wasn't a happy feeling… it was an obsession… but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog… It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused… I was thin, very thin… thin enough to slip through the bars… **

"That's disgusting." Rose said. "Inhumane."

"That's Azkaban." Dumbledore said, his eyes no longer twinkling.

**I swam as a dog back to the mainland… I journeyed north and slipped****into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry…"**

**He looked at Harry, who did not look away.**

"**Believe me," croaked Black. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."**

**And at long last, Harry believed him. Throat too tight to speak, he nodded.**

"Yes!"

"**No!"**

**Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, grovelling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.**

"**Sirius — it's me… it's Peter… your friend… you wouldn't —"**

**Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.**

"**There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Black.**

Sirius let out a bitter laugh at that.

"**Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this — wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"**

"**Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.**

"**Forgive me, Remus," said Black.**

"Of course I will."

**"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"**

"Yup."

"**Of course," said Black, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"**

"**Yes, I think so," said Lupin grimly.**

"**You wouldn't… you won't…" gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Ron.**

"**Ron… haven't I been a good friend… a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you… you're on my side, aren't you?"**

**But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.**

"**I let you sleep in my bed!" he said.**

Molly's gaze hardened at that. Percy looked sick and Fred and George ready to kill.

**"Kind boy… kind master…" Pettigrew crawled toward Ron "You won't let them do it… I was your rat… I was a good pet…"**

"**If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Black harshly.**

"Exactly." Regulus said.

**Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.**

"**Sweet girl… clever girl… you — you won't let them… Help me…"**

**Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified.**_** He turned to Lexi.**_

"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!" Most of the room yelled in outrage.

"_**You'll help me…so clever, so smart…look a lot like Lily, just as beautiful…"**_

"I have to say, your hair is the same colour as mine." Lily said.

"He called you beautiful…" Percy said, faintly green. "That…that…"

"I'm fine, Perce." Lexi said, leaning against his side. "He didn't molest me in my sleep."

"He could have."

"But he didn't."

_**Lexi let out a choking sound, backing away until Lupin was shielding her from view, his eyes narrowed at his once friend.**_

"You're very protective of her, Rem." Sirius said.

"Older you viewed me as a daughter." Lexi said in pride. "Said those exact words to me in my sixth year."

**Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry.**

"**Harry… Harry… you look just like your father… just like him…"**

"**HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Black.** **"HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"**

"**Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed… James would have understood, Harry… he would have shown me mercy…"**

"I wouldn't have understood." James said, frowning. "But I wouldn't want you to kill him."

**Both Black and Lupin strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.**

"**You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Black, who was shaking too. "Do you deny it?"**

**Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.**

"**Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord… you have no idea… he has weapons you can't imagine… I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me —"**

"**DON'T LIE!" bellowed Black. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"**

"**He — he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"**

"**What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"**

"Bastard." Surprisingly, Filius muttered under his breath.

"**You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"**

"**THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"**

"Exactly." Sirius said, nodding feverishly.

**Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.**

"**You should have realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."**

**Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.**

"**NO!" Harry yelled.**

**He ran forward, placing himself in front Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."**

**Black and Lupin both looked staggered.**

"**Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."**

"**I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors… He can go to Azkaban… but don't kill him."**

"Death would be too kind." Percy growled.

"**Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You — thank you — it's more than I deserve — thank you —"**

"**Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because — I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers — just for you."**

"I wouldn't want you to be. Plus, if you hand Peter in, you'll be free, Siri!" James said.

**No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.**

"**You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Black. "But think… think what he did…"**

"**He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does…"**

"Yes. Yes he does." George snarled.

**Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him.**

"**Very well," said Lupin. "Stand aside, Harry."**

**Harry hesitated.**

"**I'm going to tie him up," said Lupin. "That's all, I swear."**

"Don't worry, you can trust Remus." Lily said.

**Harry stepped out of the way. Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.**

"**But if you transform, Peter," growled Black, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "we will kill you. You agree, Harry?"**

**Harry looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and nodded so that Pettigrew could see him.**

"**Right," said Lupin, suddenly business like. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey,** **so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."**

"And not stupid enough to try and mend it." Lexi muttered under her breath.

**He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, and muttered, "Ferula." Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. Lupin helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.**

"**That's better," he said. "Thanks."**

"**What about Professor Snape?" said Hermione in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.**

"**There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Lupin, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "You were just a little — overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er — perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safety back in the castle. **

Snorts of amusement were echoed around the room.

**We can take him like this…"**

**He muttered, "Mobili corpus." As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Lupin picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.**

"**And two of us should be chained to this," said Black, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."**

"**I'll do it," said Lupin.**

"**And me," said Ron savagely, limping forward.**

**Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabbers's true identity as a personal insult. **

"So would I." Percy said.

**Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high.**

XoOoX

**Harry urged Buckbeak forward. They were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle… Harry pulled hard on the left-hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned. Harry was trying to count the windows flashing past —**

"What have we missed?" Walburga asked.

"It was a full moon night and, well…" Remus paled.

"Did anyone get bitten? Did anyone get hurt?"

"No. Sirius chased you off, but Peter escaped and Sirius got caught." Lexi said.

"I'm guessing we're finding out how you escaped." Percy said, interested.

"**Whoa!" he said, pulling backward as hard as he could.**

**Buckbeak slowed down and they found themselves at a stop, unless you counted the fact that they kept rising up and down several feet as the Hippogriff beat his wings to remain airborne.**

"**He's there!" Harry said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside the window. He reached out, and as Buckbeak's wings fell, was able to tap sharply on the glass.**

**Black looked up. Harry saw his jaw drop.**

"That must be slightly shocking." Sirius was grinning madly all the same.

**He leapt from his chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked.**

"**Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of Harry's robes with her left hand.**

"**Alohomora!"**

"Her trademark spell." Lexi said.

**The window sprang open.**

"**How — how —?" said Black weakly, staring at the Hippogriff.**

**"Get on — there's not much time," said Harry, gripping Buckbeak firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here — the Dementors are coming — Macnair's gone to get them."**

**Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the Hippogriff behind Hermione.**

"**Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower — come on."**

**The Hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off him at once.**

"**Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."**

**Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.**

"**What happened to the other boy? Ron?**_** And the girl, Lexi?**_**" croaked Sirius.**

"Nice to see you're concerned."

"Don't mention it."

"**He's going to be okay. He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better.**_** Lexi's passed out, but she'll come to soon enough.**_

"What happened?" Percy asked urgently.

"Dementors." Lexi said. "Creepy little buggers. Never, ever, ever want to see them ever again."

**Quick — go —"**

**But Black was still staring down at Harry.**

"**How can I ever thank —"**

"**GO!" Harry and Hermione shouted together.**

**Black wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.**

"**We'll see each other again," he said. "You are — truly your father's son, Harry…"**

**He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry and Hermione jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more… The Hippogriff took off into the air… He and his rider became smaller and smaller as Harry gazed after them… then a cloud drifted across the moon… They were gone.**

"And that's it." Percy said, and the sheets vanished in a puff of yellow smoke.

"It's time for bed." Andy said, scooping up Dora who had fallen asleep.

"Yes it is." Lexi said, turning to Tom.

"But 'm not sleepy." He protested, before contradicting himself with a huge yawn.

"Of course you're not." Percy said. "C'mon – the room's provided us places to sleep."

And so it had, big oak doors showing a girls room and boys room. Percy could only assume there were more doors behind those shown, leading to separate rooms.

"Goodnight everyone." Lexi said, standing up and stretching, yawning loudly. "I'm exhausted."

"As you should be." Pomona said, suddenly nervous. "You were fighting a battle earlier. You must be."

"Well, I'll see you all in the morning." Lexi said, before striding off towards the girls rooms and disappearing inside the door.

After a few hushed conversations, the rest of the occupants departed to their rooms to sleep, anxious for what tomorrow would bring.

XoOoX

Pffft, this is one long chapter – the extracts took up 35 A4 pages, and that's without adding the extra parts in, the whole chapter was 58 pages in total…I think I'm going to rest my muse for a while now…

Anyway, this wasn't up to tip-top standard, but I hope you like it anyway.

Please review! I might update quicker if you do! ~ Jazz


	5. Order of the Phoenix A Peck of Owls

**I OWN NOTHING IN BOLD! THAT'S ALL JKR'S WORK! I ONLY OWN LEXI!**

**XoOoX**

Severus stumbled into the main room, dressed in dark green robes and desperate for some coffee.

The room had fortunately supplied a kitchen area, where food from the kitchens was sent up. Molly was cooking food for the occupants, along with Dorea and Helga, who were both happy to help.

Lexi was awake, a cup of tea and toast slathered with strawberry jam in front of her as she read a book. Severus caught the title – 'Hairy Snout, Human Heart' – and supressed a grin.

"Morning." He said, surprisingly cheery. Lexi looked up and shot him a warm smile.

"Good morning, Sev." She chirped, folding the corner of the page she was reading, closing the book and depositing it on the table. She took a sip of her tea. "How you feeling?"

"Much better, now I have coffee." He supplied, laughing as he took a sip of the beverage. Somehow, being around Lexi made him open up – possibly because she was a Slytherin, thus had to face the same prejudices he had, possibly due to the fact she seemed to be a very bubbly person all in all. "You?"

"I'm good now that I've slept." She said, taking a bite out of her toast. "And I know that I don't have to worry about fighting any time soon."

"Don't talk while you're eating." Molly chided the girl and Lexi rolled her eyes when the Weasley matriarch turned her back.

"I don't think I've slept that well in a long time." In a rush of red and green, the newcomer was tackled to the ground by and over-enthusiastic Slytherin.

"Good morning, Percy!" Lexi chirped, pinning the boy to the ground.

"And good morning to you. If you'll excuse me, I'd like some breakfast." Percy pushed the girl off him and got to his feet, walking over to the table and nodding his head in greeting to Severus. Lexi muttered something about sticks in the mud, before retaking her seat and returning to eating her toast.

Soon, everyone had woken up, two sleepy, black haired Marauders being dragged out of bed by their only morning-person member.

"Remus, why are you such an annoyingly morning person?" Sirius asked, resting his head on the lycanthrope's shoulder, dozing off.

"Because," Remus began, clicking his fingers in front of James' nose to prevent him from falling asleep and diving, head-first, off the couch. "You two aren't. Who's reading?"

"I will." Michael said, grabbing the book and flipping it open.

**A Peck of Owls**

"**He left!" said Mrs Figg, wringing her hands. "Left to see someone about a batch of cauldrons that fell off the back of a broom! **

"Ah, good ol' Dung." George said.

"My children consort with criminals." Molly sighed, shaking her head.

"I consort with criminals." Lexi said, causing Percy to raise an incredulous eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yup!"

**I told him I'd flay him alive if he went, and now look! Dementors! It's just lucky I put Mr Tibbies on the case! But we haven't got time to stand** **around! Hurry, now, we've got to get you back! Oh, the trouble this is going to cause! I will kill him!"**

"She didn't." Fred confirmed.

"Luckily." George whispered under his breath.

**"But -" The revelation that his batty old cat-obsessed neighbour knew what Dementors were was almost as big a shock to Harry as meeting two of them down the alleyway. **

Tom giggled slightly at this.

**"You're - you're a witch?"**

"**I'm a Squib, **

"Squib?" Rose asked.

"A magical-born person who can't perform magic." Charlus said. "Sort of like a Muggleborn, only opposite."

**as Mundungus knows full well, so how on earth was I supposed to help you fight off Dementors? He left you completely without cover when I'd warned him -"**

"They seem to think something like this would happen…" Orion trailed off in thought.

"Well, since Voldy has sorta risen and is out for Harry's blood, then it's highly likely something like this would happen." James reasoned.

"**This Mundungus has been following me? Hang on - it was him! He Disapparated from the front of my house!"**

**"Yes, yes, yes, but luckily I'd stationed Mr Tibbies under a car just in case, and Mr Tibbies came and warned me, but by the time I got to your house you'd gone - and now - oh, what's Dumbledore going to say? You!" she shrieked at Dudley, still supine on the alley floor. "Get your fat bottom off the ground, quick!"**

"He's sort of passed out." Petunia said, sighing. "That's not going to work."

"**You know Dumbledore?" said Harry, staring at her.**

"**Of course I know Dumbledore, who doesn't know Dumbledore?**

"Muggles." Petunia said.

**But come on - I'll be no help if they come back, I've never so much as transfigured a teabag."**

**She stooped down, seized one of Dudley's massive arms in her wizened hands and tugged.**

"**Get up, you useless lump, get up!"**

Some people in the room sniggered.

**But Dudley either could not or would not move. He remained on the ground, trembling and ashen-faced, his mouth shut very tight.**

"He took Harry's words to heart, then." James said, grinning.

"**I'll do it." Harry took hold of Dudley's arm and heaved. With an enormous effort he managed to hoist him to his feet. Dudley seemed to be on the point of fainting. His small eyes were rolling in their sockets and sweat was beading his face; the moment Harry let go of him he swayed dangerously.**

"**Hurry up!" said Mrs Figg hysterically.**

**Harry pulled one of Dudley's massive arms around his own shoulders and dragged him towards the road, sagging slightly under the weight. **

"Wow, strong…very, very strong." Dora said.

**Mrs Figg tottered along in front of them, peering anxiously around the corner.**

"**Keep your wand out," she told Harry, as they entered Wisteria Walk. "Never mind the Statute of Secrecy now, there's going to be hell to pay anyway, we might as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg. Talk about the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery… this was exactly what Dumbledore was afraid of **

"Why would you be afraid of that, sir?" Lily asked.

"I'm not sure, Miss Evans." Albus said.

"Everyone hates Harry and Professor Dumbledore at the moment, though." Lexi said. "Bad press, due to Voldemort's return."

**-** **What's that at the end of the street? Oh, it's just Mr Prentice… don't put your wand away, boy, don't I keep telling you I'm no use?"**

**It was not easy to hold a wand steady and haul Dudley along at the same time. **

"Obviously." Bill said.

**Harry gave his cousin an impatient dig in the ribs, but Dudley seemed to have lost all desire for independent movement. He was slumped on Harry's shoulder, his large feet dragging along the ground.**

"**Why didn't you tell me you're a Squib, Mrs Figg?" asked Harry, panting with the effort to keep walking. "All those times I came round your house - why didn't you say anything?"**

"Good question, Harrykins." Sirius said, leaning over Remus and ruffling his godson's hair.

"**Dumbledore's orders. I was to keep an eye on you but not say anything, you were too young. I'm sorry I gave you such a miserable time, Harry, but the Dursleys would never have let you come if they'd thought you enjoyed it.**

Petunia gnawed her bottom lip and looked down in guilt, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

**It wasn't easy, you know… but oh my word," she said tragically, wringing her hands once more, "when Dumbledore hears about this - how could****Mundungus have left, he was supposed to be on duty until midnight - where is he? How am I going to tell Dumbledore what's happened? I can't Apparate."**

"**I've got an owl, you can borrow her." **

"It won't be quick enough." Pomona pointed out.

**Harry groaned, wondering whether his spine was going to snap under Dudley's weight.**

"**Harry, you don't understand! Dumbledore will need to act as quickly as possible, the Ministry have their own ways of detecting underage magic, they'll know already, you mark my words."**

"Wouldn't they at least check why the magic was used?" Rowena questioned. Percy looked nervous.

"At the time the Ministry was…erm, incompetent?" He looked at Lexi for confirmation and she nodded. "They were attempting to keep the community calm – Harry was in the way of that."

"But still! They should check!" Helga said, outraged.

"**But I was getting rid of Dementors, I had to use magic - they're going to be more worried about what Dementors were doing floating around Wisteria Walk, surely?"**

"Exactly!" Remus said. "That's the main problem!"

"**Oh, my dear, I wish it were so, but I'm afraid - MUNDUNGUS FLETCHER, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"**

"Lots of people wanted him dead." George confirmed.

**There was a loud crack and a strong smell of drink mingled with stale tobacco filled the air as a squat, unshaven man in a tattered overcoat materialized right in front of them. He had short, bandy legs, long straggly ginger hair and bloodshot, baggy eyes that gave him the doleful look of a basset hound. **

"Brilliant description." Lexi giggled amongst the laughter in the room.

**He was also clutching a silvery bundle that Harry recognized at once as an Invisibility Cloak.**

"**S'up, Figgy?" he said, staring from Mrs Figg to Harry and Dudley. "What 'appened to staying undercover?"**

"**I'll give you undercover!" cried Mrs Figg. "Dementors, you useless, skiving sneak thief!"**

"**Dementors?" repeated Mundungus, aghast. "Dementors, 'ere?"**

"**Yes, here, you worthless pile of bat droppings, here!"**

"I like her." Lily confirmed, laughing.

**shrieked Mrs Figg. "Dementors attacking the boy on your watch!"**

"**Blimey," said Mundungus weakly, looking from Mrs Figg to Harry, and back again. "Blimey, I -"**

"**And you off buying stolen cauldrons! Didn't I tell you not to go? Didn't I!"**

"**I - well, I -" Mundungus looked deeply uncomfortable. "It — it was a very good business opportunity, see -"**

**Mrs Figg raised the arm from which her string bag dangled and whacked Mundungus around the face and neck with it; judging by the clanking noise it made it was full of cat food.**

"Ouch." Charlie said, wincing.

"**Ouch - gerroff - gerroff, you mad old bat! Someone's gotta tell Dumbledore!"**

"**Yes - they - have!" yelled Mrs Figg, swinging the bag of cat food at every bit of Mundungus she could reach. "And - it - had - better - be - you - and - you - can - tell - him - why - you - weren't - there - to - help!"**

"Kill him, Deumbledore!" Michael said, growling slightly. He had left his grandson undefended.

"**Keep your 'airnet on!" said Mundungus, his arms over his head, cowering. "I'm going, I'm going!"**

**And with another loud crack, he vanished.**

"**I hope Dumbledore murders him!" said Mrs Figg furiously. "Now come on, Harry, what are you waiting for?"**

**Harry decided not to waste his remaining breath on pointing out that he could barely walk under Dudley's bulk. **

"Poor Harry." Dorea murmured.

**He gave the semi-conscious Dudley a heave and staggered onwards.**

"**I'll take you to the door," said Mrs Figg, as they turned into Privet Drive. "Just in case there are more of them around… oh my word, what a catastrophe… and you had to fight them off yourself… and Dumbledore said we were to keep you from doing magic at all costs… well, it's no good crying over spilt potion, I suppose… but the cat's among the pixies now."**

"**So," Harry panted, "Dumbledore's… been having… me followed?"**

"**Of course he has," said Mrs Figg impatiently. "Did you expect him to let you wander around on your own after what happened in June? Good Lord, boy, they told me you were intelligent… **

"Hey! Harry is very intelligent!" Lexi protested, glaring slightly at the book.

**right… get inside and stay there," she said, as they reached number four. "I expect someone will be in touch with you soon enough."**

"**What are you going to do?" asked Harry quickly.**

"**I'm going straight home," said Mrs Figg, staring around the dark street and shuddering. "I'll need to wait for more instructions. Just stay in the house. Goodnight."**

"**Hang on, don't go yet! I want to know -"**

**But Mrs Figg had already set off at a trot, carpet slippers flopping, string bag clanking.**

"No one every answers his questions." Lexi sighed.

"He's only fifteen." Molly reminded her.

"But he's been through so much more than most of the adults." She protested. "He came face to face with Voldemort five times, lived through his plots man more times than that, watched him murder Cedric and come back from supposedly the dead and now no one will tell him anything and he deserves to know it just as much, maybe even more, than the adults." People stared in shock at Lexi, until slowly Salazar nodded.

"I agree." He said. "He has been through a lot. He deserves answers."

"Thank you." Lexi said, inclining her head in recognition.

"**Wait!" Harry shouted after her. He had a million questions to ask anyone who was in contact with Dumbledore; but within seconds Mrs Figg was swallowed by the darkness. Scowling, Harry readjusted Dudley on his shoulder and made his slow, painful way up number four's garden path.**

**The hall light was on. Harry stuck his wand back inside the waistband of his jeans, rang the bell and watched Aunt Petunia's outline grow larger and larger, oddly distorted by the rippling glass in the front door.**

"**Diddy! About time too, I was getting quite - quite -Diddy, what's the matter!"**

"Not much. Just almost had his soul sucked out by Dementors." Fabian said, getting a smack around the head by Molly.

**Harry looked sideways at Dudley and ducked out from under his arm just in time. Dudley swayed on the spot for a moment, his face pale green… then he opened his mouth and vomited all over the doormat.**

"Eeeew!" The younger children said, pulling faces.

"**DIDDY! Diddy, what's the matter with you? Vernon? VERNON!"**

**Harry's uncle came galumphing out of the living room, walrus moustache blowing hither and thither as it always did when he was agitated. He hurried forwards to help Aunt Petunia negotiate a weak-kneed Dudley over the threshold while avoiding stepping in the pool of sick.**

"**He's ill, Vernon!"**

"**What is it, son? What's happened? Did Mrs Polkiss give you something foreign for tea?"**

"Nope."

"**Why are you all covered in dirt, darling? Have you been lying on the ground?"**

"**Hang on - you haven't been mugged, have you, son?"**

**Aunt Petunia screamed.**

"**Phone the police, Vernon! Phone the police! Diddy, darling, speak to Mummy! What did they do to you?"**

**In all the kerfuffle nobody seemed to have noticed Harry, which suited him perfectly. He managed to slip inside just before Uncle Vernon slammed the door and, while the Dursleys made their noisy progress down the hall towards the kitchen, Harry moved carefully and quietly towards the stairs.**

"Come on Harry. You can make it up the stairs." Sirius said encouragingly.

"I haven't done it yet." Harry said, laughing.

"**Who did it, son? Give us names. We'll get them, don't worry."**

"**Shh! He's trying to say something, Vernon! What is it, Diddy? Tell Mummy!"**

**Harry's foot was on the bottom-most stair when Dudley found his voice.**

"**Him."**

"It was not!" Bellatrix protested. "Idiot, he was trying to save your bloody life!"

**Harry froze, foot on the stair, face screwed up, braced for the explosion.**

"**BOY! COME HERE!"**

**With a feeling of mingled dread and anger, Harry removed his foot slowly from the stair and turned to follow the Dursleys.**

**The scrupulously clean kitchen had an oddly unreal glitter after the darkness outside. Aunt Petunia was ushering Dudley into a chair; he was still very green and clammy-looking. Uncle Vernon standing in front of the draining board, glaring at Harry through tiny, narrowed eyes.**

"He always does." Harry said. "I always do everything wrong."

"You don't, Harry." Lily said. "Vernon's just an idiot, ok?" Harry nodded ever so slightly.

"**What have you done to my son?" he said in a menacing growl.**

"**Nothing," said Harry, knowing perfectly well that Uncle Vernon wouldn't believe him.**

"Git."

"Lexi, we've got that clear."

"Just making sure it is well known, Percy dear."

"**What did he do to you, Diddy?" Aunt Petunia said in a quavering voice,** **now sponging sick from the front of Dudley's leather jacket. "Was it - was it you-know-what, darling? Did he use – his thing?"**

"Oh my God, that sounds so wrong!" Petunia burst into a fit of giggles, with the teens, Fabian and Gideon joining in.

**Slowly, tremulously, Dudley nodded.**

"**I didn't!" Harry said sharply, as Aunt Petunia let out a wail and Uncle Vernon raised his fists. **

"He better not touch my cub." Remus growled, wrapping his arms around Harry defensively.

**"I didn't do anything to him, it wasn't me, it was –"**

**But at that precise moment a screech owl swooped in through the kitchen window. Narrowly missing the top of Uncle Vernon's head, it soared across the kitchen, dropped the large parchment envelope it was carrying in its beak at Harry's feet, turned gracefully, the tips of its wings just brushing the top of the fridge, then zoomed outside again and off across the garden.**

"**OWLS!" bellowed Uncle Vernon, the well-worn vein in his temple pulsing angrily as he slammed the kitchen window shut. "OWLS AGAIN! I WILL NOT HAVE ANY MORE OWLS IN MY HOUSE!"**

"You need to yell!" Sirius whined.

"No." Remus said. "Please don't yell, Mr Evans."

"I wasn't planning to." Sirius pouted.

**But Harry was already ripping open the envelope and pulling out the letter inside, his heart pounding somewhere in the region of his Adam's apple.**

**Dear Mr Potter,**

**We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past nine **

"Very precise on the time, aren't they?" Eileen commented.

**this evening in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle.**

**The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**

"What the hell?" Severus yelled. "They can't do that! There needs to be at least a bloody trial first!"

**Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand.**

**As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. on the twelfth of****August.**

**Hoping you are well,**

"Oh yes, he's just fine." Regulus drawled sarcastically.

**Yours sincerely,**

**Mafalda Hopkirk**

**Improper Use of Magic Office**

**Ministry of Magic**

**Harry read the letter through twice. He was only vaguely aware of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia talking. Inside his head, all was icy and numb. One fact had penetrated his consciousness like a paralyzing dart. He was expelled from Hogwarts. It was all over. He was never going back.**

"Oh yes he is." The twins sang in unison.

**He looked up at the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon was purple-faced, shouting, his fists still raised; Aunt Petunia had her arms around Dudley, who was retching again.**

**Harry's temporarily stupefied brain seemed to reawaken. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand. There was only one thing for it. He would have to run - now.**

That would be a really bad idea." Filius pointed out unnecessarily.

**Where he was going to go, Harry didn't know, but he was certain of one thing: at Hogwarts or outside it, he needed his wand. In an almost dream like state, he pulled his wand out and turned to leave the kitchen.**

"**Where d'you think you're going?" yelled Uncle Vernon. When Harry didn't reply, he pounded across the kitchen to block the doorway into the hall. "I haven't finished with you, boy!"**

Remus, Sirius, James and Lily growled low in their throats.

"**Get out of the way," said Harry quietly.**

"**You're going to stay here and explain how my son-"**

"**If you don't get out of the way I'm going to jinx you," said Harry, raising the wand.**

"Don't." Minerva said. "Or you'll just get into more trouble."

"**You can't pull that one on me!" snarled Uncle Vernon. "I know you're not allowed to use it outside that madhouse you call a school!"**

"Our school is NOT a madhouse!" The founders said, outraged.

"**The madhouse has chucked me out," said Harry. "So I can do whatever I like. You've got three seconds. One - two -"**

**A resounding CRACK filled the kitchen. Aunt Petunia screamed, 'Hide!' Uncle Vernon yelled and ducked, but for the third time that night Harry was searching for the source of a disturbance he had not made. He spotted it at once: a dazed and ruffled-looking barn owl was sitting outside on the kitchen sill, having just collided with the closed window.**

"Oh, Errol." Percy shook his head hopelessly.

**Ignoring Uncle Vernon's anguished yell of 'OWLS!' Harry crossed the room at a run and wrenched the window open. The owl stuck out its leg, to which a small roll of parchment was tied, shook its leathers, and took off the moment Harry had taken the letter. Hands shaking, Harry unfurled the second message, which was written very hastily and blotchily in black ink.**

**Harry —**

**Dumbledore's just arrived at the Ministry and he's trying to sort it all out. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AUNT AND UNCLE'S HOUSE.** **DO NOT DO ANY MORE MAGIC. DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR WAND.**

**Arthur Weasley**

"Good advice, Mr Weasley." Lexi chirped, grinning.

**Dumbledore was trying to sort it all out… what did that mean? How much power did Dumbledore have to override the Ministry of Magic?**

"A lot." Horace commented.

**Was there a chance that he might be allowed back to Hogwarts, then? A small shoot of hope burgeoned in Harry's chest, almost immediately strangled by panic - how was he supposed to refuse to surrender his wand without doing magic? He'd have to duel with the Ministry representatives, and if he did that, he'd be lucky to escape Azkaban, let alone expulsion.**

"So many people have escaped from Azkaban in our time, it's not even funny anymore." Fred commented dully.

"Who else has escaped?" Gideon asked.

"Well, Siri, Crouch junior and more in the upcoming years." Lexi said. "Most of those who escape are psychopaths, and we end up trying to kill most of them so…"

"Deatheaters?" Charlus asked, sighing.

"Deatheaters." Lexi confirmed.

**His mind was racing… he could run for it and risk being captured by the Ministry, or stay put and wait for them to find him here. He was much more tempted by the former course, but he knew Mr Weasley had his best interests at heart… and after all, Dumbledore had sorted out much worse than this before.**

"**Right," Harry said, "I've changed my mind, I'm staying." He flung himself down at the kitchen table and faced Dudley and Aunt Petunia. The Dursleys appeared taken aback at his abrupt change of mind. Aunt Petunia glanced despairingly at Uncle Vernon. The vein in his purple temple was throbbing worse than ever.**

"Attractive." Lily said dryly.

"**Who are all these ruddy owls from?" he growled.**

"**The first one was from the Ministry of Magic, expelling me," said Harry calmly. He was straining his ears to catch any noises outside, in case the Ministry representatives were approaching, and it was easier and quieter to answer Uncle Vernon's questions than to have him start raging and bellowing. "The second one was from my friend Ron's dad, who works at the Ministry."**

"**Ministry of Magic?" bellowed Uncle Vernon. "People like you in government! Oh, this explains everything, everything, no wonder the country's going to the dogs."**

"Idiot." Lucius said, rolling his eyes.

**When Harry did not respond, Uncle Vernon glared at him, then spat out, "And why have you been expelled?"**

"**Because I did magic."**

"**AHA!" roared Uncle Vernon, slamming his fist down on top of the fridge, which sprang open; several of Dudley's low-fat snacks toppled out and burst on the floor. "So you admit it! What did you do to Dudley?"**

"He is so stupid." Lily said. "Tuney, what on earth did you see in him?"

"I might have been blind." Petunia commented. "And deaf at the time."

"**Nothing," said Harry, slightly less calmly. "That wasn't me -"**

"**Was," muttered Dudley unexpectedly, and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia instantly made flapping gestures at Harry to quieted him while they both bent low over Dudley.**

Tom tried to hide is laughter at the image which appeared in his head of the two adults flapping their arms like birds.

"**Go on, son," said Uncle Vernon, "what did he do?"**

"**Tell us, darling," whispered Aunt Petunia.**

"**Pointed his wand at me," Dudley mumbled.**

"**Yeah, I did, but I didn't use -" Harry began angrily, but –**

"**SHUT UP!" roared Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia in unison.**

"**Go on, son," repeated Uncle Vernon, moustache blowing about furiously.**

"**All went dark," Dudley said hoarsely, shuddering. "Everything dark. And then I h-heard… things. Inside m-my head."**

"What could he hear?" Harry couldn't help but ask. "He's been pampered all his life."

"Probably his victims. Them crying and telling him to stop hurting them." Remus thought.

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia exchanged looks of utter horror. If their least favourite thing in the world was magic - closely followed by neighbours who cheated more than they did on the hosepipe ban - people who heard voices were definitely in the bottom ten. They obviously thought Dudley was losing his mind.**

"**What sort of things did you hear, Popkin?" breathed Aunt Petunia, very white-faced and with tears in her eyes.**

**But Dudley seemed incapable of saying. He shuddered again and shook his large blond head, and despite the sense of numb dread that had settled on Harry since the arrival of the first owl, he felt a certain curiosity. Dementors caused a person to relive the worst moments of their life. What would spoiled, pampered, bullying Dudley have been forced to hear?**

"What Remus said seems to be the most logical answer." Severus said.

"**How come you fell over, son?" said Uncle Vernon, in an unnaturally quiet voice, the kind of voice he might adopt at the bedside of a very ill person.**

"**T-tripped," said Dudley shakily. "And then –"**

**He gestured at his massive chest. Harry understood. Dudley was remembering the clammy cold that filled the lungs as hope and happiness were sucked out of you.**

Lexi, George, Fred and Percy shuddered, but none more furiously as the Slytherin as she remembered the cold in the compartment and the hood being lowered, revealing covered eye sockets and a hole, sucking, draining…

"**Horrible," croaked Dudley. "Cold. Really cold."**

"**Okay," said Uncle Vernon, in a voice of forced calm, while Aunt Petunia laid an anxious hand on Dudley's forehead to feel his temperature. "What happened then, Dudders?"**

"**Felt… felt… felt… as if… as if…"**

"**As if you'd never be happy again," Harry supplied dully.**

"It's awful." Lexi said. "The most awful thing ever."

"**Yes," Dudley whispered, still trembling.**

"**So!" said Uncle Vernon, voice restored to full and considerable volume as he straightened up.**

"**You put some crackpot spell on my son so he'd hear voices and believe he was - was doomed to misery, or something, did you?"**

"**How many times do I have to tell you?" said Harry, temper and voice both rising. "It wasn't me! It was a couple of Dementors!"**

"**A couple of - what's this codswallop?"**

"**De - men - tors," said Harry slowly and clearly. "Two of them."**

"**And what the ruddy hell are Dementors?"**

"**They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban," said Aunt Petunia.**

"You know what they are?" James asked, incredulous. Petunia nodded.

**Two seconds of ringing silence followed these words before Aunt Petunia clapped her hand over her mouth as though she had let slip a disgusting swear word. Uncle Vernon was goggling at her.**

**Harry's brain reeled. Mrs Figg was one thing - but Aunt Petunia?**

"**How d'you know that?" he asked her, astonished.**

"That's what I want to know." James whined.

**Aunt Petunia looked quite appalled with herself. She glanced at Uncle Vernon in fearful apology, then lowered her hand slightly to reveal her horsy teeth.**

"**I heard - that awful boy – telling her about them - years ago," she said jerkily.**

"**If you mean my mum and dad, why don't you use their names?" said Harry loudly, but Aunt** **Petunia ignored him. She seemed horribly flustered.**

"I haven't told Lily about them…" James said, confused.

"But I did." Severus said, eyes wide. Petunia nodded, slightly abashed.

**Harry was stunned. Except for one outburst years ago, in the course of which Aunt Petunia had screamed that Harry's mother had been a freak, he had never heard her mention her sister. He was astounded that she had remembered this scrap of information about the magical world for so long, when she usually put all her energies into pretending it didn't exist.**

"Because I wish I was magical." Petunia whispered. "I wish I was. I feel so…so…" Lily was the only one who heard her, and drew an arm around her sister in comfort.

**Uncle Vernon opened his mouth, closed it again, opened it once more, shut it, then, apparently struggling to remember how to talk, opened it for a third time and croaked, "So - so - they - er - they - er - they actually exist, do they - er - Dementy-whatsits?"**

**Aunt Petunia nodded.**

**Uncle Vernon looked from Aunt Petunia to Dudley to Harry as if hoping somebody was going to shout 'April Fool!' When nobody did, he opened his mouth yet again, but was spared the struggle to find more words by the arrival of the third owl of the evening. It zoomed through the still-open window like a feathery cannon-ball **

"Brill description." Fred pointed out, ultimately dissipating the tension in the room slightly.

**and landed with a clatter on the kitchen table, causing all three of the Dursleys to jump with fright. Harry tore a second official-looking envelope from the owl's beak and ripped it open as the owl swooped back out into the night.**

"**Enough - effing - owls," muttered Uncle Vernon distractedly, stomping over to the window and slamming it shut again.**

**Dear Mr Potter,**

**Further to our letter of approximately twenty-two minutes ago, the Ministry of Magic has revised its decision to destroy your wand forthwith. You may retain your wand until your disciplinary hearing on the twelfth of August, at which time an official decision will be taken.**

"He better win the trial." Sirius said.

**Following discussions with the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Ministry has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided at that time. You should therefore consider yourself suspended from school pending further enquiries.**

**With best wishes,**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Mafalda Hopkirk**

**Improper Use of Magic Office**

**Ministry of Magic**

**Harry read this letter through three times in quick succession. The miserable knot in his chest loosened slightly with the relief of knowing he was not yet definitely expelled, though his fears were by no means banished. Everything seemed to hang on this hearing on the twelfth of August.**

Narcissa let out a sigh. "At least there's a chance."

"**Well?" said Uncle Vernon, recalling Harry to his surroundings. "What now? Have they sentenced you to anything? Do your lot have the death penalty?" he added as a hopeful afterthought.**

"**I've got to go to a hearing," said Harry.**

"**And they'll sentence you there?"**

"**I suppose so."**

"**I won't give up hope, then," said Uncle Vernon nastily.**

"That bastard!"

"Lily!"

"What? He is."

"**Well, if that's all," said Harry, getting to his feet. He was desperate to be alone, to think, perhaps to send a letter to Ron,**_** Lexi,**_** Hermione or Sirius.**

"**NO, IT RUDDY WELL IS NOT ALL!" bellowed Uncle Vernon. "SIT BACK DOWN!"**

"**What now?" said Harry impatiently.**

"**DUDLEY!" roared Uncle Vernon. "I want to know exactly what happened to my son!"**

"**FINE!" yelled Harry, and in his temper, red and gold sparks shot out of the end of his wand, still clutched in his hand. All three Dursleys flinched, looking terrified.**

"Angry Harry is not someone to be messed with." Lexi confirmed.

"So he has Lily's temper, then?" Severus said, smirking when Lily scowled at him.

"**Dudley and I were in the alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk," said Harry, speaking fast, fighting to control his temper. "Dudley thought he'd be smart with me, I pulled out my wand but didn't use it. Then two Dementors turned up —"**

"**But what ARE Dementoids?" asked Uncle Vernon furiously. "What do they DO?"**

"**I told you - they suck all the happiness out of you," said Harry, "and if they get the chance, they kiss you –"**

Lexi shuddered at that.

"**Kiss you?" said Uncle Vernon, his eyes popping slightly. "Kiss you?"**

"**It's what they call it when they suck the soul out of your mouth."**

**Aunt Petunia uttered a soft scream.**

"**His soul? They didn't take - he's still got his -"**

**She seized Dudley by the shoulders and shook him, as though testing to see whether she could hear his soul rattling around inside him.**

Some snorted at that description.

"**Of course they didn't get his soul, you'd know if they had," said Harry, exasperated.**

"**Fought 'em off, did you, son?" said Uncle Vernon loudly, with the appearance of a man struggling to bring the conversation back on to a plane he understood. "Gave 'em the old one-two, did you?"**

"You can't give a Dementor the 'old one-two'." Charlus stated, rolling his eyes. "Honestly…"

"**You can't give a Dementor the old one-two," said Harry through clenched teeth.**

"**Why's he all right, then?" blustered Uncle Vernon. "Why isn't he all empty, then?"**

"**Because I used the Patronus -"**

**WHOOSH. With a clattering, a whirring of wings and a soft fall of dust, a fourth owl came shooting out of the kitchen fireplace.**

"That's going to annoy him." Gideon said.

"**FOR GOD'S SAKE!" roared Uncle Vernon, pulling great clumps of hair out of his moustache, something he hadn't been driven to do in a long time. "I WILL NOT HAVE OWLS HERE, I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS, I TELL YOU!"**

"When does he tolerate anything?" Fabian questioned.

**But Harry was already pulling a roll of parchment from the owl's leg. He was so convinced that this letter had to be from Dumbledore, explaining everything - the Dementors, Mrs Figg, what the Ministry was up to, how he, Dumbledore, intended to sort everything out - that for the first time in his life he was disappointed to see Sirius's handwriting.**

"Aww, I'm hurt." Sirius put a hand on his heart, putting a look of faux pain on his face.

**Ignoring Uncle Vernon's on going rant about owls, and narrowing his eyes against a second cloud of dust as the most recent owl look off back up the chimney, Harry read Sirius's message.**

**Arthur's just told us what's happened. Don't leave the house again, whatever you do.**

**Harry found this such an inadequate response to everything that had happened tonight that he turned the piece of parchment over, looking for the rest of the letter, but there was nothing else.**

Remus frowned slightly at that. Why wasn't his cub getting any answers?

**And now his temper was rising again. Wasn't anybody going to say 'well done' for fighting off two Dementors single-handed? Both Mr Weasley and Sirius were acting as though he'd misbehaved, and were saving their tellings-off until they could ascertain how much damage had been done.**

"We're just worried for you, Harry." Mr Weasley said, frowning slightly.

"…**A peck, I mean, pack of owls shooting in and out of my house. I won't have it, boy, I won't-"**

"**I can't stop the owls coming," Harry snapped, crushing Sirius's letter in his fist.**

**"I want the truth about what happened tonight!" bar ked Uncle Vernon. "If it was Demenders who hurt Dudley, how come you've been expelled? You did you-know-what, you've admitted it!"**

**Harry took a deep, steadying breath. His head was beginning to ache again. He wanted more than anything to get out of the kitchen, and away from the Dursleys.**

"Everyone would." Narcissa commented.

"**I did the Patronus Charm to get rid of the Dementors," he said, forcing himself to remain calm.**

"**But what were Dementoids doing in Little Whinging?" said Uncle Vernon in an outraged tone.**

"**Couldn't tell you," said Harry wearily. "No idea."**

**His head was pounding in the glare of the strip-lighting now. His anger was ebbing away. He felt drained, exhausted. The Dursleys were all staring at him.**

"**It's you," said Uncle Vernon forcefully. "It's got something to do with you, boy, I know it.** **Why else would they turn up here? Why else would they be down that alleyway? You've got to be the only - the only -" Evidently, he couldn't bring himself to say the word 'wizard' "the only you know-what for miles."**

"The word isn't going to kill you." Lexi said. "Like with Voldemort." A few people flinched. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, honestly…"

"**I don't know why they were here."**

**But at Uncle Vernon's words, Harry's exhausted brain had ground back into action. Why had the Dementors come to Little Whinging? How could it be coincidence that they had arrived in the alleyway where Harry was? Had they been sent? Had the Ministry of Magic lost control of the Dementors? Had they deserted Azkaban and joined Voldemort, as Dumbledore had predicted they would?**

"So many questions." Fred sighed.

"So few answers." George finished.

"**These Demembers guard some weirdo's prison?" asked Uncle Vernon, lumbering along in the wake of Harry's train of thought.**

"**Yes," said Harry.**

**If only his head would stop hurting, if only he could just leave the kitchen and get to his dark bedroom and think…**

"**Oho! They were coming to arrest you!" said Uncle Vernon, with the triumphant air of a man reaching an unassailable conclusion. "That's it, isn't it, boy? You're on the run from the law!"**

"Holy Merlin and Morgana! Honestly!" Minerva exclaimed, rolling her eyes in disbelief at the Muggle.

"**Of course I'm not," said Harry, shaking his head as though to scare off a fly, his mind racing now.**

"**Then why -?"**

"**He must have sent them," said Harry quietly, more to himself than to Uncle Vernon.**

"**What's that? Who must have sent them?"**

"**Lord Voldemort," said Harry.**

**He registered dimly how strange it was that the Dursleys, who flinched, winced and squawked if they heard words like 'wizard', 'magic' or 'wand', could hear the name of the most evil wizard of all time without the slightest tremor.**

"They're like our opposites." Filius mused.

"**Lord - hang on," said Uncle Vernon, his face screwed up, a look of dawning comprehension coming into his piggy eyes. "I've heard that name… that was the one who —"**

"**Murdered my parents, yes," Harry said dully.**

"How can he talk about it so casually?" Remus thought, clutching the bundle in his arms tighter as Harry nuzzled his face into the werewolf's robes.

"**But he's gone," said Uncle Vernon impatiently, without the slightest sign that the murder of** **Harry's parents might be a painful topic. **

"Git."

"Prat."

"Prick."

The twins and Percy stared at their mother in shock at that last comment. Molly ignored them very well.

**"That giant bloke said so. He's gone."**

"**He's back," said Harry heavily.**

**It felt very strange to be standing here in Aunt Petunia's surgically clean kitchen, beside the top of-the-range fridge and the wide-screen television, talking calmly of Lord Voldemort to Uncle Vernon. The arrival of the Dementors in Little Whinging seemed to have breached the great, invisible wall that divided the relentlessly non-magical world of Privet Drive and the world beyond, Harry's two lives had somehow become fused and everything had been turned upside-down; the Dursleys were asking for details about the magical world, and Mrs Figg knew Albus Dumbledore; Dementors were soaring around Little Whinging, and he might never return to Hogwarts. Harry's head throbbed more painfully.**

"Poor Harry…" Dorea murmured.

"**Back?" whispered Aunt Petunia.**

**She was looking at Harry as she had never looked at him before. And all of a sudden, for the very first time in his life, Harry fully appreciated that Aunt Petunia was his mother's sister. He could not have said why this hit him so very powerfully at this moment. All he knew was that he was not the only person in the room who had an inkling of what Lord Voldemort being back might mean.**

"Death, destruction and other bad stuff." Lexi summarised unnecessarily.

**Aunt Petunia had never in her life looked at him like that before. Her large, pale eyes (so unlike her sister's) were not narrowed in dislike or anger, they were wide and fearful.**

Petunia shuddered violently.

**The furious pretence that Aunt Petunia had maintained all Harry's life - that there was no magic and no world other than the world she inhabited with Uncle Vernon - seemed to have fallen away.**

"**Yes," Harry said, talking directly to Aunt Petunia now. "He came back a month ago. I saw him."**

**Her hands found Dudley's massive leather-clad shoulders and clutched them.**

"**Hang on," said Uncle Vernon, looking from his wife to Harry and back again, apparently dazed and confused by the unprecedented understanding that seemed to have sprung up between them.**

Many people in the room rolled their eyes.

"**Hang on. This Lord Voldything's back, you say."**

"**Yes."**

"**The one who murdered your parents."**

"**Yes."**

"**And now he's sending Dismembers after you?"**

"**Looks like it," said Harry.**

"**I see," said Uncle Vernon, looking from his white - faced wife to Harry and hitching up his trousers. He seemed to be swelling, his great purple face stretching before Harry's eyes. "Well, that settles it," he said, his shirt front straining as he inflated himself, "you can get out of this house, boy!"**

"No way!" Surprisingly, Petunia yelled. "You are not going to throw my nephew out of the bloody house, whether Lord Voldemort is after him or not!" Lily had never been more grateful that Petunia was her sister than in that moment.

"**What?" said Harry.**

**"You heard me - OUT!" Uncle Vernon bellowed, and even Aunt Petunia and Dudley jumped.**

"**OUT! OUT! I should've done this years ago! Owls treating the place like a rest home, puddings exploding, half the lounge destroyed, Dudley's tail, Marge bobbing around on the ceiling and that flying Ford Anglia - OUT! OUT! You've had it! You're history! You're not staying here if some loony's after you, you're not endangering my wife and son, you're not bringing trouble down on us. If you're going the same way as your useless parents, I've had it! OUT!"**

"That bastard." Lexi's voice was calm and those who knew her well knew she was ready to explode.

"Calm down." Percy soothed, resting a hand on her shoulder, rubbing soothing circles with his thumb. "Relax. He's not here. It's not going to happen again." Lexi drew a deep breath, before nodding at Michael to continue reading.

**Harry stood rooted to the spot. The letters from the Ministry, Mr Weasley and Sirius were all crushed in his left hand. Don't leave the house again, whatever you do. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AUNT AND UNCLE'S HOUSE.**

**"You heard me!" said Uncle Vernon, bending forward now, his massive purple face coming so close to Harry's, he actually felt flecks of spit hit his face. **

The children pulled disgusted faces.

**"Get going! You were all keen to leave half an hour ago! I'm right behind you! Get out and never darken our doorstep again! Why we ever kept you in the first place, I don't know, Marge was right, it should have been the orphanage. We were too damn soft for our own good, thought we could squash it out of you, thought we could turn you normal, but you've been rotten from the beginning and I've had enough - owls!"**

"You can't turn someone normal." Rose said, her normally soft features a lot more hard. "And our grandson is very normal. Just because he has magic doesn't make him abnormal."

**The fifth owl zoomed down the chimney so fast it actually hit the floor before zooming into the air again with a loud screech. Harry raised his hand to seize the letter, which was in a scarlet envelope, but it soared straight over his head, flying directly at Aunt Petunia, who let out a scream and ducked, her arms over her face. The owl dropped the red envelope on her head, turned, and flew straight back up the chimney.**

**Harry darted forwards to pick up the letter, but Aunt Petunia beat him to it.**

"**You can open it if you like," said Harry, "but I'll hear what it says anyway. That's a Howler."**

"Ouch." Lexi winced. "Howlers are not nice."

"**Let go of it, Petunia!" roared Uncle Vernon. "Don't touch it, it could be dangerous!"**

"**It's addressed to me," said Aunt Petunia in a shaking voice. "It's addressed to me, Vernon, look! Mrs Petunia Dursley, The Kitchen, Number Four, Privet Drive –"**

**She caught her breath, horrified. The red envelope had begun to smoke.**

"It's gonna explode." Percy commented.

"**Open it!' Harry urged her. "Get it over with! It'll happen anyway."**

"**No."**

**Aunt Petunia's hand was trembling. She looked wildly around the kitchen as though looking for an escape route, but too late -the envelope burst into flames. Aunt Petunia screamed and dropped it.**

**An awful voice filled the kitchen, echoing in the confined space, issuing from the burning letter on the table.**

**Remember my last, Petunia.**

"Cryptic." Severus said.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she might faint. She sank into the chair beside Dudley, her face in her hands. The remains of the envelope smouldered into ash in the silence.**

"**What is this?" Uncle Vernon said hoarsely. "What - I don't -Petunia?"**

**Aunt Petunia said nothing. Dudley was staring stupidly at his mother, his mouth hanging open.**

**The silence spiralled horribly. Harry was watching his aunt, utterly bewildered, his head throbbing fit to burst.**

"**Petunia, dear?" said Uncle Vernon timidly. "P-Petunia?"**

**She raised her head. She was still trembling. She swallowed.**

"**The boy - the boy will have to stay, Vernon," she said weakly.**

"He does have a name." Regulus snapped, not able to stop himself.

"**W-what?"**

"**He stays," she said. She was not looking at Harry. She got to her feet again.**

"**He… but Petunia…"**

"**If we throw him out, the neighbours will talk," she said. She was rapidly regaining her usual brisk, snappish manner, though she was still very pale. "They'll ask awkward questions, they'll want to know where he's gone. We'll have to keep him."**

**Uncle Vernon was deflating like an old tire.**

"**But Petunia, dear –"**

**Aunt Petunia ignored him. She turned to Harry. "You're to stay in your room," she said. "You're not to leave the house. Now get to bed."**

**Harry didn't move.**

"**Who was that Howler from?"**

"**Don't ask questions," Aunt Petunia snapped.**

"**Are you in touch with wizards?"**

"**I told you to get to bed!"**

"**What did it mean? Remember the last what?"**

"**Go to bed!"**

"**How come -?"**

"**YOU HEARD YOUR AUNT, NOW GET TO BED!"**

"And that's it." Michael said, holding the book out. Sirius snatched it.

"Oooh, I think we meet some people in this room in the next chapter!" Lexi exclaimed. She was beaming.

"Um, ok…" Sirius was slightly confused by the sudden change of mood, but cleared his throat and began to read.

XoOoX

And it is complete! Thanks to those of you who have linked me to places I can put up my stories if fanfiction takes them down. I'm really grateful to you all!

Anyway, I realised the other day that I forgot to add the disclaimer to my previous chapters, which was really clever of me, so I'm going to bob that in quickly now.

Please review! ~ Jazz


	6. Order of the Phoenix The Advance Guard

**I OWN NOTHING IN BOLD! THAT'S ALL JKR'S WORK! I ONLY OWN LEXI!**

**XoOoX**

**The Advance Guard**

"Wonder what that means…" James mused.

**I've just been attacked by Dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here.**

"Unfortunately, we can't tell him anything." Lexi sighed. "It was eating me up, too. I so wanted to write everything down and send an owl, but I couldn't."

"I suspect I asked you to swear that you wouldn't." Dumbledore said and Lexi nodded in confirmation.

**Harry copied these words on to **_**four**_** separate pieces of parchment the moment he reached the desk in his dark bedroom. He addressed the first to Sirius, the second to Ron**_**,**_** the third to Hermione**_** and the final to Lexi**_**.**

"I think you don't play a very important role in Harrykins' life, Lexi." Regulus couldn't help but tease, causing some people in the room to laugh, while Sirius regarded his brother with some sort of longing.

"What can I say? He saved the best for last." She said, winking.

**His owl, Hedwig, was off hunting; her cage stood empty on the desk. Harry paced the bedroom waiting for her to come back, his head pounding, his brain too busy for sleep even though his eyes stung and itched with tiredness. His back ached from hauling Dudley home, and the two lumps on his head where the window and Dudley had hit him were throbbing painfully.**

"Harry, you really should get some sleep." Lily cooed in a motherly fashion.

**Up and down he paced, consumed with anger and frustration, grinding his teeth and clenching his fists, casting angry looks out at the empty, star-strewn sky every time he passed the window. Dementors sent to get him, Mrs Figg and Mundungus Fletcher tailing him in secret, then suspension from Hogwarts and a hearing at the Ministry of Magic - and still no one was telling him what was going on.**

"Because they weren't allowed." Lucius repeated Lexi's statement from earlier.

**And what, what, had that Howler been about? Whose voice had echoed so horribly, so menacingly, through the kitchen?**

"Bet it was Dumbledore!" Sirius crowed.

"Of course it wasn't Dumbledore." Remus stated sarcastically. "It was James, back from the dead, ready to wreak havoc upon the lives of Muggles who look like farm animals."

**Why was he still trapped here without information? Why was everyone treating him like some naughty kid? Don't do any more magic, stay in the house…**

**He kicked his school trunk as he passed it, but far from relieving his anger he felt worse, as he now had a sharp pain in his toe to deal with in addition to the pain in the rest of his body.**

"That was really stupid." Tom said idly.

**Just as he limped past the window, Hedwig soared through it with a soft rustle of wings like a small ghost.**

Lexi winced at the foreshadowing, but no one else noticed, most of the girls in the room cooing at the description of the owl.

"**About time!" Harry snarled, as she landed lightly on top of her cage. "You can put that down, I've got work for you!"**

"Don't be nasty to the owl." Narcissa said, frowning. "She hasn't done anything to you."

**Hedwig's large, round, amber eyes gazed at him reproachfully over the dead frog clamped in her beak.**

**"Come here," said Harry, picking up the three small rolls of parchment and a leather thong and tying the scrolls to her scaly leg. "Take these straight to Sirius, Ron**_**, Lexi**_** and Hermione and don't come back here without good long replies. Keep pecking them till they've written decent-length answers if you've got to. Understand?"**

"That really, really hurt." Lexi commented. "But, then again, she stopped after a while."

"Only 'cause you were depressed and you yelled at her to leave you alone." George said.

"Oh, yeah…" The Slytherin bit her lip slightly.

**Hedwig gave a muffled hooting noise, her beak still full of frog.**

"**Get going, then," said Harry.**

**She took off immediately. The moment she'd gone, Harry threw himself down on his bed without undressing and stared at the dark ceiling. In addition to every other miserable feeling, he now felt guilty that he'd been irritable with Hedwig; she was the only friend he had at number four, Privet Drive. But he'd make it up to her when she came back with the answers from Sirius, Ron**_**, Lexi**_** and Hermione.**

"That's good." Narcissa nodded, content.

**They were bound to write back quickly; they couldn't possibly ignore a Dementor attack.**

"You actually broke out of your moping stupor enough to panic at that." Fred reminisced.

"Will you shut up?" Lexi snapped. The twins grinned innocently.

"Who? Us?"

**He'd probably wake up tomorrow to three fat letters full of sympathy and plans for his immediate removal to The Burrow. And with that comforting idea, sleep rolled over him, stifling all further thought.**

**But Hedwig didn't return next morning. Harry spent the day in his bedroom, leaving it only to go to the bathroom. Three times that day Aunt Petunia shoved food into his room through the cat flap Uncle Vernon had installed three summers ago. **

"Why, exactly, did he need to install a cat flap?" Dorea couldn't help but ask, raising one eyebrow.

"No idea." Lexi, Fred, George and Percy said, shrugging.

**Every time Harry heard her approaching he tried to question her about the Howler, but he might as well have interrogated the doorknob for all the answers he got.**

**Otherwise, the Dursleys kept well clear of his bedroom. Harry couldn't see the point of forcing his company on them; another row would achieve nothing except perhaps make him so angry he'd perform more illegal magic.**

"Which would be bad." Dora commented.

**So it went on for three whole days. Harry was alternately filled with restless energy that made him unable to settle to anything, during which time he paced his bedroom, furious at the whole lot of them for leaving him to stew in this mess; **

"I know how that feels." Sirius sighed, resting his head on Remus' shoulder.

**and with a lethargy so complete that he could lie on his bed for an hour at a time, staring dazedly into space, aching with dread at the thought of the Ministry hearing.**

**What if they ruled against him? What if he was expelled and his wand was snapped in half? What would he do, where would he go? He could not return to living full-time with the Dursleys, not now he knew the other world, the one to which he really belonged. Might he be able to move into Sirius's house, as Sirius had suggested a year ago, before he had been forced to flee from the Ministry? **

"I wouldn't have any objection to that." Sirius said.

"But a certain Headmaster would." Lexi mumbled under her breath.**  
**

**Would Harry be allowed to live there alone, given that he was still underage? Or would the matter of where he went next be decided for him? Had his breach of the International Statute of Secrecy been severe enough to land him in a cell in Azkaban?**

"Harry, you have an unusual obsession with being sent to Azkaban." Severus said. The little boy stared at the Slytherin.

"He's a pessimist." Fred and George chimed, Lexi nodded in agreement.

"He takes things way too far." Lexi added. "Remember the second task?"

"That was the scariest moment of my life." Percy said, shuddering.

"Second task?" Arthur asked, feeling some sort of fear settling in his stomach.

"Hopefully we'll get the extracts from that year from the people who sent us the book." Orion suggested, quite curious.

**Whenever this thought occurred, Harry invariably slid off his bed and began pacing again.**

**On the fourth night after Hedwig's departure Harry was lying in one of his apathetic phases, staring at the ceiling, his exhausted mind quite blank, when his uncle entered his bedroom. Harry looked slowly around at him. Uncle Vernon was wearing his best suit and an expression of enormous smugness.**

**"We're going out," he said.**

"**Sorry?"**

"**We - that is to say, your aunt, Dudley and I - are going out."**

"Ugh…" Lily prepared herself for listening to the pathetic excuse of a human being known as Vernon Dursley.

"**Fine," said Harry dully, looking back at the ceiling.**

"**You are not to leave your bedroom while we are away."**

"**Okay."**

"**You are not to touch the television, the stereo, or any of our possessions."**

"**Right."**

"**You are not to steal food from the fridge."**

"**Okay."**

"**I am going to lock your door."**

"**You do that."**

That was the final straw for many people as they burst out laughing.

"Dear Merlin, James!" Surprisingly, Regulus spluttered. "Your kid is hilarious!"

**Uncle Vernon glared at Harry, clearly suspicious of this lack of argument, then stomped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Harry heard the key turn in the lock and Uncle Vernon's footsteps walking heavily down the stairs. A few minutes later he heard the slamming of car doors, the rumble of an engine, and the unmistakable sound of the car sweeping out of the drive.**

**Harry had no particular feeling about the Dursleys leaving. It made no difference to him whether they were in the house or not. He could not even summon the energy to get up and turn on his bedroom light. The room grew steadily darker around him as he lay listening to the night sounds through the window he kept open all the time, waiting for the blessed moment when Hedwig returned. The empty house creaked around him. The pipes gurgled. Harry lay there in a kind of stupor, thinking of nothing, suspended in misery.**

"Why is Harry so depressing?" Bill asked.

"It's called 'teenage angst'." Lexi said in an all-knowing tone of voice whilst some people attempted to hide their snickers behind cough or by jabbing their fists into their mouths.

**Then, quite distinctly, he heard a crash in the kitchen below. He sat bolt upright, listening intently. The Dursleys couldn't be back, it was much too soon, and in any case he hadn't heard their car.**

**There was silence for a few seconds, then voices. Burglars, he thought, sliding off the bed on to his feet - but a split second later it occurred to him that burglars would keep their voices down, and whoever was moving around in the kitchen was certainly not troubling to do so. **

"That is true…" Pollux said, musing.

"It's the advance guard!" Charlie squealed.

"How do you know that?" John asked.

"It was the title." Charlie said cleverly, causing Serena to laugh at the bewildered look on her husband's face.

**He snatched up his wand from the bedside table and stood facing his bedroom door, listening with all his might. Next moment, he jumped as the lock gave a loud click and his door swung open. Harry stood motionless, staring through the open doorway at the dark upstairs landing, straining his ears for further sounds, but none came. He hesitated for a moment, then moved swiftly and silently out of his room to the head of the stairs.**

**His heart shot upwards into his throat. There were people standing in the shadowy hall below, silhouetted against the streetlight glowing through the glass door; eight or nine of them, all, as far as he could see, looking up at him.**

**"Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out," said a low, growling voice.**

"Is that…?"

"Impossible, he wouldn't…"

Minerva and Albus were having a conversation between themselves.

"It is!" Lexi chimed, knowing exactly who they were talking about, causing some people in the room to jump at the unexpected outburst.

**Harry's heart was thumping uncontrollably. He knew that voice, but he did not lower his wand. "Professor Moody?" he said uncertainly.**

"Professor?" Filius squeaked. "Alastor Moody became a professor?"

"Um…well, sort of?" Lexi said, tilting her head, as though looking for a way to explain it.

"**I don't know so much about 'Professor'," growled the voice, "never got round to much teaching, did I? Get down here, we want to see you properly."**

**Harry lowered his wand slightly but did not relax his grip on it, nor did he move.**

"Impressive, that." Abraxas commented, nodding slightly.

**He had very good reason to be suspicious. He had recently spent nine months in what he had thought was Mad-Eye Moody's company only to find out that it wasn't Moody at all, but an impostor; an impostor, moreover, who had tried to kill Harry before being unmasked. **

Petunia's eyebrows shot up. "That's…pleasant?"

"Not really." Lexi drawled.

"Who…?" Sirius asked.

"I've mentioned their name already." Lexi said.

"Crouch junior?" Remus hazarded. Lexi nodded.

"Don't like him." She said conversationally.

"Oh, really?" Percy said. "What did it for you? The Deatheater part, or the 'trying to kill Harry' one?"

"Both, actually."

**But before he could make a decision about what to do next, a second, slightly hoarse voice floated upstairs.**

"**It's all right, Harry. We've come to take you away."**

**Harry's heart leapt. He knew that voice, too, though he hadn't heard it for over a year.**

"**P-Professor Lupin?" he said disbelievingly. "Is that you?"**

Yes! It's Moony!" Sirius and James cheered, Harry clapping along with them.

"**Why are we all standing in the dark?" said a third voice, this one completely unfamiliar, a woman's. "Lumos."**

**A wand-tip flared, illuminating the hall with magical light. Harry blinked. The people below were crowded around the foot of the stairs, gazing up at him intently, some craning their heads for a better look.**

"That's what being saviour of the wizarding world does to you." Fred said, sighing and shaking his head.

**Remus Lupin stood nearest to him. Though still quite young, Lupin looked tired and rather ill; he had more grey hairs than when Harry had last said goodbye to him and his robes were more patched and shabbier than ever.**

"Moony…" Sirius looked at his friend in concern.

"It must be hard getting a job, Pads." Remus said, sighing. "What, with my condition."

"Stupid, prejudiced gits." Lexi muttered under her breath.

**Nevertheless, he was smiling broadly at Harry, who tried to smile back despite his state of shock.**

"**Oooh, he looks just like I thought he would," said the witch who was holding her lit wand aloft. She looked the youngest there; she had a pale heart-shaped face, dark twinkling eyes, and short spiky hair that was a violent shade of violet. "Wotcher, Harry!"**

"Is that me?" Dora asked and Lexi nodded. Andy felt fear rising in her. What was her baby doing there? Dora could get hurt, especially if Voldemort was back and after Harry.

"Don't worry, 'Dromeda." Ted murmured in his wife's ear. "Dora's a big girl there. She can look after herself."

"**Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus," said a bald black wizard standing furthest back - he had a deep, slow voice and wore a single gold hoop in his ear - "he looks exactly like James."**

"Kingsley, I assume." Horace said, Lexi nodding, confirming the professor's guess.

"**Except the eyes," said a wheezy-voiced, silver-haired wizard at the back. "Lily's eyes."**

**Mad-Eye Moody, who had long grizzled grey hair and a large chunk missing from his nose, was squinting suspiciously at Harry through his mismatched eyes. One eye was small, dark and beady, the other large, round and electric blue - the magical eye that could see through walls, doors and the back of Moody's own head. **

"Wicked…" Sirius' eyes grew wide.

"No, you are not losing an eye so you can get that one."

"But Moony…"

"Padfoot…"

"Fine." Cue sulking from Sirius.

**"Are you quite sure it's him, Lupin?" he growled. "It'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Death Eater impersonating him. We ought to ask him something only the real Potter would know. Unless anyone brought any Veritaserum?"**

"**Harry, what form does your Patronus take?" Lupin asked.**

"**A stag," said Harry nervously.**

"But wouldn't anyone know that?" James asked.

"Only those on our side." Lexi said. "Others wouldn't know him well enough to know that."

"**That's him, Mad-Eye," said Lupin.**

**Very conscious of everybody still staring at him, Harry descended the stairs, stowing his wand in the back pocket of his jeans as he came.**

"**Don't put your wand there, boy!" roared Moody. "What if it ignited? Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know!"**

"**Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?" the violet-haired woman asked Mad-Eye interestedly.**

Some teenagers and immature adults (the Prewett twins) began to giggle at this.

"**Never you mind, you just keep your wand out of your back pocket!" growled Mad-Eye.**

"**Elementary wand-safety, nobody bothers about it anymore." He stumped off towards the kitchen. "And I saw that," he added irritably, as the woman rolled her eyes towards the ceiling.**

**Lupin held out his hand and shook Harry's.**

"**How are you?" he asked, looking closely at Harry.**

"**F-fine…"**

**Harry could hardly believe this was real. Four weeks with nothing, not the tiniest hint of a plan to remove him from Privet Drive, and suddenly a whole bunch of wizards was standing matter-of factly in the house as though this was a long-standing arrangement. He glanced at the people surrounding Lupin; they were still gazing avidly at him. He felt very conscious of the fact that he had not combed his hair for four days.**

"As if it would make a difference." Charlus said, running a hand through his own messy hair. "Potter curse."

"**I'm - you're really lucky the Dursleys are out…" he mumbled.**

**"Lucky, ha!" said the violet-haired woman. "It was me who lured them out of the way. Sent a letter by Muggle post telling them they'd been short-listed for the All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. They're heading off to the prize-giving right now… or they think they are."**

"Brilliant Dora!" Sirius exclaimed. "You are brilliant, you know that?" Dora's hair turned red at that in slight embarrassment, but looked proud.

"Thank you, Siri!"

**Harry had a fleeting vision of Uncle Vernon's face when he realized there was no All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition.**

"**We are leaving, aren't we?" he asked. "Soon?"**

"**Almost at once," said Lupin, "we're just waiting for the all-clear."**

"**Where are we going? The Burrow?" Harry asked hopefully.**

"**Not The Burrow, no," said Lupin, motioning Harry towards the kitchen; the little knot of wizards followed, all still eyeing Harry curiously. "Too risky. We've set up Headquarters somewhere undetectable. It's taken a while…"**

"Headquarters?" Remus asked.

"For the Order of the Pho-mpph!" Was all Fred managed to get out as Lexi had promptly tackled him to the floor.

"Don't give the plot details away, you idiot!" She hissed, before getting off him and going back to sit in her place, as though nothing had happened. People were either staring in slight confusion, or giggling like idiots.

**Mad-Eye Moody was now sitting at the kitchen table swigging from a hip flask, his magical eye spinning in all directions, taking in the Dursleys' many labour-saving appliances.**

"**This is Alastor Moody, Harry" Lupin continued, pointing towards Moody.**

"**Yeah, I know," said Harry uncomfortably. It felt odd to be introduced to somebody he'd thought he'd known for a year.**

"**And this is Nymphadora -"**

"**Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus," said the young witch with a shudder, "it's Tonks."**

"**Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only," finished Lupin.**

"Moony is asking for death." James chimed.

"Tonks." Dora tried out. "That sounds cool."

"**So would you if your fool of a mother had called you Nymphadora," muttered Tonks.**

Adromeda frowned at that. There was nothing wrong with the name Nymphadora. Sure, it was a bit odd, but still…

"It's better than Mundungus." Lexi said. "I mean, honestly, who would want their nickname to be Dung?"

"**And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt." He indicated the tall black wizard, who bowed.**

"**Elphias Doge." The wheezy-voiced wizard nodded. "Dedalus Diggle -"**

"Harry's biggest fan!" George cheered.

"**We've met before," squeaked the excitable Diggle, dropping his violet-coloured top hat. "Emmeline Vance." A stately-looking witch in an emerald green shawl inclined her head. "Sturgis Podmore." A square-jawed wizard with thick straw-coloured hair winked. "And Hestia Jones." A pink-cheeked, black-haired witch waved form next to the toaster.**

"Mmm, toast…" Lexi mumbled.

"You had toast a while ago." Bellatrix said.

"Toast's nice." Lexi defended herself.

**Harry inclined his head awkwardly at each of them as they were introduced. He wished they would look at something other than him; it was as though he had suddenly been ushered onstage. He also wondered why so many of them were there.**

"**A surprising number of people volunteered to come and get you," said Lupin, as though he had read Harry's mind; the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.**

"**Yeah, well, the more the better," said Moody darkly. "We're your guard, Potter."**

"The advance guard." Gideon said, nodding.

"**We're just waiting for the signal to tell us it's safe to set off," said Lupin, glancing out of the kitchen window. "We've got about fifteen minutes."**

"**Very clean, aren't they, these Muggles?" said the witch called Tonks, who was looking around the kitchen with great interest. "My dad's Muggle-born and he's a right old slob. **

Ted looked offended at this and some muffled snorts of laughter came from the vicinity of the Marauders and the Black family – some well-meaning, others more mocking.

**I suppose it varies, just as it does with wizards?"**

"**Er - yeah," said Harry. "Look -" he turned back to Lupin,**

Dora pouted, her hair turning blue. "Don't ignore me, Harry! I'm nice too!"

"I only know Moony, though." Harry said quietly.

"**what's going on, I haven't heard anything from anyone, what's Vol—?"**

**Several of the witches and wizards made odd hissing noises; Dedalus Diggle dropped his hat again and Moody growled, "Shut up!"**

"It's too open to talk about anything there." Filius said.

"**What?" said Harry.**

"**We're not discussing anything here, it's too risky," said Moody, turning his normal eye on Harry. His magical eye remained focused on the ceiling. "Damn it," he added angrily, putting a hand up to the magical eye, "it keeps getting stuck - ever since that scum wore it."**

**And with a nasty squelching sound much like a plunger being pulled from a sink, he popped out his eye.**

"Ewww, gross!" Lexi commented, while many girl merely gagged.

**"Mad-Eye, you do know that's disgusting, don't you?" said Tonks conversationally.**

**"Get me a glass of water, would you, Harry," requested Moody.**

**Harry crossed to the dishwasher, took out a clean glass and filled it with water at the sink, still watched eagerly by the band of wizards. Their relentless staring was starting to annoy him.**

"It would annoy anyone." Helga said.

"**Cheers," said Moody, when Harry handed him the glass. He dropped the magical eyeball into the water and prodded it up and down; the eye whizzed around, staring at them all in turn. "I want three hundred and sixty degrees visibility on the return journey."**

"**How're we getting - wherever we're going?" Harry asked.**

"**Brooms," said Lupin. "Only way. You're too young to Apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorized Portkey."**

"**Remus says you're a good flier," said Kingsley Shacklebolt in his deep voice.**

"Boasting, are we Remus?" James teased.

"Harry's a brill flier." Lexi said. "I had to play against him once…he was on a cursed broom and he still managed to beat me."

"Cursed broom?" Rose asked, slightly hysterical.

"He was fine." George said. "Me, Fred and Lexi would've caught him if he fell."

"But you were on the opposing team?" Pomona asked.

"I wasn't about to let him fall and break something, was I?" Lexi protested indignantly. "It may have cost me my position in the team, but it was worth it!"

"It's a shame they kicked you off." Fred sighed. "You actually provided us some competition without dirty tactics."

"**He's excellent," said Lupin, who was checking his watch. "Anyway, you'd better go and get packed, Harry, we want to be ready to go when the signal comes."**

"**I'll come and help you," said Tonks brightly.**

**She followed Harry back into the hall and up the stairs, looking around with much curiosity and interest.**

**"Funny place," she said. "It's a bit too clean, d'you know what I mean? Bit unnatural. Oh, this is better," she added, as they entered Harry's bedroom and he turned on the light.**

**His room was certainly much messier than the rest of the house. Confined to it for four days in a very bad mood, Harry had not bothered tidying up after himself. Most of the books he owned were strewn over the floor where he'd tried to distract himself with each in turn and thrown it aside; Hedwig's cage needed cleaning out and was starting to smell; and his trunk lay open, revealing a jumbled mixture of Muggle clothes and wizards' robes that had spilled on to the floor around it.**

"You really need to clean out your room." Lily said in a motherly tone, frowning slightly.

**Harry started picking up books and throwing them hastily into his trunk. Tonks paused at his open wardrobe to look critically at her reflection in the mirror on the inside of the door.**

"**You know, I don't think violet's really my colour," she said pensively, tugging at a lock of spiky hair. "D'you think it makes me look a bit peaky?"**

"**Er -" said Harry, looking up at her over the top of Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland.**

"Best answer there." Arthur said, before quailing under his wife's fierce glare.

"**Yeah, it does," said Tonks decisively. She screwed up her eyes in a strained expression as though she was struggling to remember something. A second later, her hair had turned bubble-gum pink.**

"**How did you do that?" said Harry, gaping at her as she opened her eyes again.**

"**I'm a Metamorphmagus," she said, looking back at her reflection and turning her head so that she could see her hair from all directions. "It means I can change my appearance at will," she added, spotting Harry's puzzled expression in the mirror behind her. "I was born one. I got top marks in Concealment and Disguise during Auror training without any study at all, it was great."**

"So, Dora becomes an Auror." Andy mused. She couldn't help feeling scared that her daughter had gone into a rather dangerous profession, but she was still proud of her daughter's achievement.

"**You're an Auror?" said Harry, impressed. Being a Dark-wizard-catcher was the only career he'd ever considered after Hogwarts.**

**"Yeah," said Tonks, looking proud. "Kingsley is as well, he's a bit higher up than me, though. I only qualified a year ago. Nearly failed on Stealth and Tracking. I'm dead clumsy, did you hear me break that plate when we arrived downstairs?"**

"**Can you learn how to be a Metamorphmagus?" Harry asked her, straightening up, completely forgetting about packing.**

**Tonks chuckled.**

"**Bet you wouldn't mind hiding that scar sometimes, eh?"**

**Her eyes found the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead.**

"**No, I wouldn't mind," Harry mumbled, turning away. He did not like people staring at his scar.**

"It's a reminder of what he lost – of course he wouldn't want people staring at it." Rowena assumed.

**"Well, you'll have to learn the hard way, I'm afraid," said Tonks. "Metamorphmagi are really rare, they're born, not made. Most wizards need to use a wand, or potions, to change their appearance. But we've got to get going, Harry, we're supposed to be packing," she added guiltily, looking around at all the mess on the floor.**

"**Oh — yeah," said Harry, grabbing a few more books.**

"**Don't be stupid, it'll be much quicker if I - pack!" cried Tonks, waving her wand in a long, sweeping movement over the floor.**

**Books, clothes, telescope and scales all soared into the air and flew pell-mell into the trunk.**

"Packing is not my forte, otherwise I'd offer you some tips." Lexi said. "Mostly, I just pile it all in then sit on top of the case. It will close…mostly."

"**It's not very neat," said Tonks, walking over to the trunk and looking down at the jumble inside. "My mums got this knack of getting stuff to fit itself in neatly - she even gets the socks to fold themselves - but I've never mastered how she does it - it's a kind of flick -" She flicked her wand hopefully.**

**One of Harry's socks gave a feeble sort of wiggle and flopped back on top of the mess in the trunk.**

"Fail." James sang.

"**Ah, well," said Tonks, slamming the trunk's lid shut, "at least it's all in. That could do with a bit of cleaning, too." She pointed her wand at Hedwig's cage. "Scourgify." A few feathers and droppings vanished. "Well, that's a bit better - I've never quite got the hang of these householdy sort of spells. Right - got everything? Cauldron? Broom? Wow! - A Firebolt!"**

**Her eyes widened as they fell on the broomstick in Harry's right hand it was his pride and joy, a gift from Sirius, an international-standard broomstick.**

"International…standard…broomstick…" James began to drool.

"Sirius, you have to be the best godfather ever." Regulus said, eyes wide. "I want one – no, I need one."

"Unfortunately, they haven't been invented yet." Percy pointed out, causing Regulus and James to sigh in defeat.

"**And I'm still riding a Comet Two Sixty" said Tonks enviously. "Ah well… wand still in your jeans? Both buttocks still on? Okay, let's go. Locomotor trunk."**

**Harry's trunk rose a few inches into the air. Holding her wand like a conductor's baton, Tonks made the trunk hover across the room and out of the door ahead of them, Hedwig's cage in her left hand. Harry followed her down the stairs carrying his broomstick.**

**Back in the kitchen Moody had replaced his eye, which was spinning so fast after its cleaning it made Harry feel sick to look at it. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Sturgis Podmore were examining the microwave **

"Microwave?" Godric asked.

"It heats up food." Michael said.

**and Hestia Jones was laughing at a potato peeler she had come across while rummaging in the drawers.**

**Lupin was sealing a letter addressed to the Dursleys.**

"**Excellent," said Lupin, looking up as Tonks and Harry entered. "We've got about a minute, I think. We should probably get out into the garden so we're ready. Harry, I've left a letter telling your aunt and uncle not to worry –"**

"**They won't," said Harry.**

"**- that you're safe -"**

"**That'll just depress them."**

"**- and you'll see them next summer."**

"**Do I have to?"**

"Merlin…" Narcissa rolled her eyes. "No offense, but those two are rubbish at parenting."

**Lupin smiled but made no answer.**

"**Come here, boy," said Moody gruffly, beckoning Harry towards him with his wand. "I need to Disillusion you."**

"**You need to what?" said Harry nervously.**

"**Disillusionment Charm," said Moody, raising his wand. "Lupin says you've got an Invisibility Cloak, but it won't stay on while we're flying; this'll disguise you better. Here you go - He rapped him hard on the top of the head and Harry felt a curious sensation as though Moody had just smashed an egg there; cold trickles seemed to be running down his body from the point the wand had struck.**

Lexi squirmed at that. "Doesn't sound very pleasant, does it?"

"**Nice one, Mad-Eye," said Tonks appreciatively, staring at Harry's midriff.**

**Harry looked down at his body, or rather, what had been his body, for it didn't look anything like his anymore. It was not invisible; it had simply taken on the exact colour and texture of the kitchen unit behind him. He seemed to have become a human chameleon.**

"Good description." Albus said, nodding.

"**Come on," said Moody, unlocking the back door with his wand. They all stepped outside on to Uncle Vernon's beautifully kept lawn.**

"**Clear night," grunted Moody, his magical eye scanning the heavens. "Could've done with a bit more cloud cover. Right, you," he barked at Harry," we're going to be flying in close formation. Tonks'll be right in front of you, keep close on her tail. Lupin'll be covering you from below I'm going to be behind you. The rest'll be circling us. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed -"**

"**Is that likely?" Harry asked apprehensively, but Moody ignored him.**

"**- the others keep flying, don't stop, don't break ranks. If they take out all of us and you survive, Harry, the rear guard are standing by to take over; keep flying east and they'll join you."**

"That's morbid." Salazar said.

"Not to mention unlikely." Fred said.

"Voldykins is staying undercover. Stir up unrest and then attack. People will be confused and they'll realise he's back when it's too late." Lexi stated, then rolled her eyes as everyone stared at her. "I was in Slytherin for a reason, you know."

"I thought Slytherins were all…y'know, purebloods?" Fabian couldn't help but say.

"I'm a pureblood – my mother and father were purebloods from different countries, so technically I am one." Lexi said. "And not all Slytherins are purebloods – Severus is a Slytherin and he's a half-blood." Severus nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"You just don't seem…Slytherinish." James said.

"Good word use there." Lexi commented dryly, clapping her hands sarcastically. "For your information, not all Slytherins are evil. The whole house of Slytherin was twisted because of Voldemort being in our house. We have the founder of Slytherin house here," She gestured to Salazar, who was looking quite amazed that one person could affect his entire house like that. "And it is obvious that his personality has been twisted by what Voldemort has done."

"What, exactly, have I been known to do?" Salazar couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, you despise Muggleborns and Muggles, you hated your fellow founders, which is obviously not true, and you have a hidden chamber under the school, which houses a monster which can kill off Muggleborns." Fred said helpfully.

"The last part's true – not the Muggleborn killing part, but the chamber and monster thingy." Lexi said, waving off looks of amazement. "Anyway, I was describing why I'm Slytherinish. Qualities Slytherins have which I have; Intelligence."

"You got all your OWLS, aside from History of Magic." Percy commented.

"Goblin wars are boring." Lexi said unnecessarily. "A certain disregard for the rules."

"You're breaking the rules of time travel by actually trying to change the future." Minerva said.

"Yup. Ambition, which I can say I do have. Even if it isn't the usual 'I'm gonna take over the world insert evil laugh' kind of ambition. Determination."

"That's definitely the truth." George said. "Honestly, you're so determined to get people to look beyond the normal."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So there you go – the reasons why I'm a Slytherin." Lexi said. "Now, can we read? Please?"

Lexi's mini speech had given the current Slytherins, or those who were once in Slytherin, things to think about. They didn't need to follow Voldemort just because they were put in Slytherin – Lexi obviously didn't, and those who were at Grimmauld Place when she came to collect them knew that at least three Slytherins went against Voldemort in the future. It was time to stop doing what the public expected to do and follow their own dreams and not those which others had forged for them.

"**Stop being so cheerful, Mad-Eye, he'll think we're not taking this seriously" said Tonks, as she strapped Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage into a harness hanging from her broom.**

"**I'm just telling the boy the plan," growled Moody. "Our jobs to deliver him safely to Headquarters and if we die in the attempt –"**

"**No one's going to die," said Kingsley Shacklebolt in his deep, calming voice.**

"Kingsley has that calm persona about him, doesn't he?" Remus mused.

"**Mount your brooms, that's the first signal!" said Lupin sharply pointing into the sky.**

**Far, far above them, a shower of bright red sparks had flared among the stars, Harry recognized them at once as wand sparks. He swung his right leg over his Firebolt, gripped its handle tightly and felt it vibrating very slightly, as though it was as keen as he was to be up in the air once more.**

"**Second signal, let's go!" said Lupin loudly as more sparks, green **

"Why green?" Sirius whined.

"'Cause green's a cool colour." Lexi hummed.

**this time, exploded high above them.**

**Harry kicked off hard from the ground. The cool night air rushed through his hair as the neat square gardens of Privet Drive fell away, shrinking rapidly into a patchwork of dark greens and blacks, and every thought of the Ministry hearing was swept from his mind as though the rush of air had blown it out of his head. He felt as though his heart was going to explode with pleasure; he was flying again, flying away from Privet Drive as he'd been fantasizing about all summer, he was going home… for a few glorious moments, all his problems seemed to recede to nothing, insignificant in the vast, starry sky.**

"It sounds amazing." Petunia murmured.

"**Hard left, hard left, there's a Muggle looking up!" shouted Moody from behind him. Tonks swerved and Harry followed her, watching his trunk swinging wildly beneath her broom. "We need more height… give it another quarter of a mile!"**

**Harry's eyes watered in the chill as they soared upwards; he could see nothing below now but tiny pinpricks of light that were car headlights and streetlamps. Two of those tiny lights might belong to Uncle Vernon's car… the Dursleys would be heading back to their empty house right now, full of rage about the non-existent Lawn Competition… and Harry laughed aloud at the thought,** **though his voice was drowned by the flapping robes of the others, the creaking of the harness holding his trunk and the cage, and the whoosh of the wind in their ears as they sped through the air. He had not felt this alive in a month, or this happy.**

"I love flying." Lexi sighed. "It makes me feel…free. I'm away from all the prejudices I have to face from the rest of the school, away from my normal life."

"**Bearing south!" shouted Mad-Eye. "'Town ahead!"**

**They soared right to avoid passing directly over the glittering spider's web of lights below.**

"**Bear southeast and keep climbing, there's some low cloud ahead we can lose ourselves in!" called Moody.**

"**We're not going through clouds!" shouted Tonks angrily, "we'll get soaked, Mad-Eye!"**

"Thank Merlin for Tonks." Lily murmured.

**Harry was relieved to hear her say this; his hands were growing numb on the Firebolt's handle.**

**He wished he had thought to put on a coat; he was starting to shiver.**

**They altered their course every now and then according to Mad-Eyes instructions. Harry's eyes were screwed up against the rush of icy wind that was starting to make his ears ache; he could remember being this cold on a broom only once before, during the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff in his third year, which had taken place in a storm. **

"What?" Rose sounded angry. "He had to play Quidditch in a storm?"

"The storm wasn't the only problem." Percy muttered.

**The guard around him was circling continuously like giant birds of prey. Harry lost track of time. He wondered how long they had been flying, it felt like an hour at least.**

"**Turning southwest!" yelled Moody "We want to avoid the motorway!"**

**Harry was now so chilled he thought longingly of the snug, dry interiors of the cars streaming along below, then, even more longingly, of traveling by Floo powder; it might be uncomfortable to spin around in fireplaces but it was at least warm in the flames…**

"Don't like Floo." Lexi said.

"That was slightly obvious when you rolled out of the fireplace and got soot everywhere." Regulus pointed out.

"Kreature's gonna have fun cleaning that up." She laughed.

"How do you know Kreature?"

"It's a long story…which will be explained. In this book."

**Kingsley Shacklebolt swooped around him, bald pate and earring gleaming slightly in the moonlight… now Emmeline Vance was on his right, her wand out, her head turning left and right… then she, too, swooped over him, to be replaced by Sturgis Podmore…**

"**We ought to double back for a bit, just to make sure we're not being followed!" Moody shouted.**

"**ARE YOU MAD, MAD-EYE"' **

"Yes, he is." Sirius said. "Hence the name 'Mad'-eye."

**Tonks screamed from the front. "We're all frozen to our brooms! If we keep going off-course we're not going to get there until next week! Besides, we're nearly there now!"**

"**Time to start the descent!" came Lupin's voice. "Follow Tonks, Harry!"**

**Harry followed Tonks into a dive. They were heading for the largest collection of lights he had yet seen, a huge, sprawling crisscrossing mass, glittering in lines and grids, interspersed with patches of deepest black. **

"It sounds so…unreal." Lily said. "So beautiful."

**Lower and lower they flew, until Harry could see individual headlights and streetlamps, chimneys and television aerials. He wanted to reach the ground very much, though he felt sure someone would have to unfreeze him from his broom.**

"**Here we go!" called Tonks, and a few seconds later she had landed.**

**Harry touched down right behind her and dismounted on a patch of unkempt grass in the middle of a small square. Tonks was already unbuckling Harry's trunk. Shivering, Harry looked around.**

**The grimy fronts of the surrounding houses were not welcoming; some of them had broken windows, glimmering dully in the light from the streetlamps, paint was peeling from many of the doors and heaps of rubbish lay outside several sets of front steps.**

"Pleasant." Bellatrix said, wrinkling her nose.

"**Where are we?" Harry asked, but Lupin said quietly, "In a minute."**

**Moody was rummaging in his cloak, his gnarled hands clumsy with cold.**

"**Got it," he muttered, raising what looked like a silver cigarette lighter into the air and clicking it.**

**The nearest streetlamp went out with a pop.**

"Wicked!" The Marauders said, along with the two sets of twins.

"It's an invention of mine." Dumbledore said.

"It's called a Deluminator, isn't it?" Lexi asked, beaming when the Headmaster nodded.

**He clicked the unlighter again; the next lamp went out; he kept clicking until every lamp in the square was extinguished and the only remaining light came from curtained windows and the sickle moon overhead.**

"**Borrowed it from Dumbledore," growled Moody, pocketing the Put-Outer. "That'll take care of any Muggles looking out of the window, see? Now come on, quick."**

"Wouldn't they notice the lights being put out?" Serena asked, only to get shrugs in reply.

**He took Harry by the arm and led him from the patch of grass, across the road and on to the pavement; Lupin and Tonks followed, carrying Harry's trunk between them, the rest of the guard, all with their wands out, flanking them.**

**The muffled pounding of a stereo was coming from an upper window in the nearest house. A pungent smell of rotting rubbish came from the pile of bulging bin-bags just inside the broken gate.**

"**Here," Moody muttered, thrusting a piece of parchment towards Harry's Disillusioned hand and holding his lit wand close to it, so as to illuminate the writing. "Read quickly and memories."**

**Harry looked down at the piece of paper. The narrow handwriting was vaguely familiar. It said: The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.**

"Oh, the irony." Lexi sighed, looking as Walburga slowly turned red at the thought of Muggleborns and half-bloods going into her house – not to mention Halfbreeds.

"Why, exactly, is the Headquarters located at my house?" Regulus asked.

"'Cause it was the safest place." Fred said. "Had the Fidelius and anti-muggle wards up already. It just needed to be tweaked slightly and BAM! Headquarters is complete!"

"It wasn't fun cleaning up the place though." Lexi said.

"Mum let you slack off 'cause you were being all depressed which was totally unfair." George said.

"I had to do the Doxies though!" She protested. "And those things are so annoying!"

At this point, another note floated down from the ceiling, landing in Rose's lap, whilst in a flash of blue light a stack of parchment appeared on the table. When everyone's attention was on Rose, she began to read.

"the main question you want answering is about a task and why Harry had to complete it in the first place. First off, he would hate me sending this as it makes him sound stupid in the second task, but you deserve to know what happened in his fourth year.

Good luck!

The Otter."

"I know who The Otter is…or at least, I have an idea…" Lexi trailed off, thinking. "I'll tell you when I'm sure."

"Alright, shall I read?" After no objections, Rose picked up the pieces of parchment and began to read.

XoOoX

Finished this chapter. For the extracts from the Goblet of Fire, what should I include? I'm going to include all of the tasks, but should I include anything else? I'm thinking about the Yule Ball, for some hints between Percy and Lexi's relationship, and possibly the part of the graveyard scene with the ritual and the part where Voldemort lets slip about his Horcruxes, but I'm not so sure.

Reviews and suggestions are appreciated! ~ Jazz


	7. AN

Sorry about this, but it is important.

My laptop has gone and died on me. I have no use of it anymore because the charger has broken. I don't know how often I'll be able to have access to a computer to write, but I'll keep trying to update, it just may be slower than normal.

Once again, sorry. ~ Jazz


	8. The Trials of a Champion

**I OWN NOTHING IN BOLD! THAT'S ALL JKR'S WORK! I ONLY OWN LEXI!**

**XoOoX**

**Dumbledore cleared his throat.****"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."**

"No. Bloody. Way." Regulus turned to stare at Dumbledore. "The Triwizard Tournament. But I thought that it had been discontinued due to the death toll!"

"Death toll!" Rose squeaked. "You are allowing students to compete in something which may kill them?"

"It seems so…" McGonagall looked sceptical.**"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly.****The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.****"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar."****Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.**

The same situation happened in the room, causing laughter from those seated.**"Er - but maybe this is not the time...no..." said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament...well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.**

Many people snorted in amusement.**"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."**

"As it should have been." Dorea agreed, looking at her grandson in worry. What would happen if he took part in it, and got himself killed? _But he didn't. _The logical part of her brain reminded her. _As he is alive in a year's time._**"Death toll?" Hermione whispered, looking alarmed. But her anxiety did not seem to be shared by the majority of students in the Hall; many of them were whispering excitedly to one another, and Harry himself was far more interested in hearing about the tournament than in worrying about deaths that had happened hundreds of years ago.****"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.**

Lexi bowed her head in remembrance of Cedric Diggory, the one champion who had lost his life to the tournament and had found himself in mortal danger.**"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."****"I'm going for it!" Fred Weasley hissed down the table, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches.**

"No you will not!" Molly snapped. "You could get yourself killed!"

"I didn't, mum. Don't worry." Fred held his hands up in surrender.

**He was not the only person who seemed to be visualizing himself as the Hogwarts champion. At every House table, Harry could see people either gazing raptly at Dumbledore, or else whispering fervently to their neighbors. But then Dumbledore spoke again, and the Hall quieted once more.****"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. **

"Oh, that's good – Harry won't take part then." Lily said, briefly forgetting what Percy said about the second task.

**This -" Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious - "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred's and George's mutinous faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.****"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. **

"I doubt it – everyone will be thinking about the tournament." James said.

"It's better than your dorm mates talking about it through the night while you're trying to sleep." Lexi said. "Then having certain Gryffindors nick your breakfast 'cause they stayed up so late that, by the time they got down, there was no food left." The Slytherin directed her glare at the Weasley twins, who smiled back at her.

**Bedtime! Chop chop!"**

**XoOoX**

**"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" - he indicated the door behind the staff table - "where they will be receiving their first instructions." **

"That's quite a time skip." Percy observed. "The others have already arrived."

**He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting...A few people kept checking their watches... **

**"Any second," Lee Jordan whispered, two seats away from Harry. **

**The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it - the whole room gasped. **

"Wicked." James and Sirius breathed in awe.

**Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white. **

**"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."**

"Who's Viktor Krum?" Petunia asked.

"Seeker on the Bulgarian Quidditch team." Lexi said, sighing. "He's amazing."

"He looks like a vulture." Percy said, rather put out. Lexi rolled her eyes at him.

**"No surprises there!" yelled Ron as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Harry saw Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table and slouch up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber. **

**"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. "Knew you had it in you!" **

At this, those from the future rolled their eyes in exasperation.

**The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames. **

**"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!" **

"GO FLEUR!" Lexi cheered.

"Fleur is so pretty." Fred and George sighed in unison.

"She part Veela, of course she's pretty." Percy stated.

**"It's her, Ron!" Harry shouted as the girl who so resembled a veela got gracefully to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery blonde hair, and swept up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. **

"Wow…she does sound beautiful." Sirius said, sighing dreamily.

"She's a bit young for you, Pads." Moony joked, though there was an emotion which wasn't amusement in his eyes.

**"Oh look, they're all disappointed," Hermione said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. "Disappointed" was a bit of an understatement, Harry thought. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms. **

"That's slightly over-dramatic." Severus said, rolling his eyes.

**When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion next... **

**And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment. **

**"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!" **

"He's the one who…oh." Helga sighed, lowering her head. "That poor, poor boy."

**"No! " said Ron loudly, but nobody heard him except Harry; the uproar from the next table was too great. Every single Hufflepuff **

"He's in my house." Helga and Pomona said, smiling.

"He is the definition of a Hufflepuff." Lexi said. "Loyal, kind, hardworking…he didn't deserve to die."

**had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again. **

**"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real -" **

**But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him. **

**The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment. **

"Oh dear Merlin, no!" Remus groaned.

**Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out - **

**"Harry Potter."**

"How is that even possible?" Filius questioned.

"I'm in the Tournament?" Harry asked, eyes wide. "But how?"

"Because of a bloody imposter." Lexi growled under her breath, but no one heard.

"Oh, this is bad, bad, bad!" Lily said.

**XoOoX**

**He stood up, noticing dimly that his legs seemed to be made of marshmallow. He waited. And then he heard the whistle blow. He walked out through the entrance of the tent, the panic rising into a crescendo inside him. And now he was walking past the trees, through a gap in the enclosure fence.**

"What's happening?" Tom asked, wriggling in his seat.

"I think this is the first task." Fred said.**He saw everything in front of him as though it was a very highly colored dream. There were hundreds and hundreds of faces staring down at him from stands that had been magicked there since he'd last stood on this spot. And there was the Horntail, **

"A DRAGON!" Molly screeched. "THEY HAVE TO FACE A BLOODY DRAGON!"

"I think that's what it says, Molly dear." Arthur said, patting his wife on the arm. "Relax."

"Merlin." Narcissa breathed. "A dragon."

**at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled, her evil, yellow eyes upon him, a monstrous, scaly, black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail, heaving yard-long gouge marks in the hard ground. The crowd was making a great deal of noise, but whether friendly or not, Harry didn't know or care. It was time to do what he had to do...to focus his mind, entirely and absolutely, upon the thing that was his only chance.****He raised his wand.****"Accio Firebolt!" he shouted.**

"He's going to fly." Lucius confirmed. "I hope that his fancy flying can get him out of trouble."**Harry waited, every fiber of him hoping, praying...If it hadn't worked...if it wasn't coming...He seemed to be looking at everything around him through some sort of shimmering, transparent barrier, like a heat haze, which made the enclosure and the hundreds of faces around him swim strangely...****And then he heard it, speeding through the air behind him; he turned and saw his Firebolt hurtling toward him around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure, and stopping dead in midair beside him, waiting for him to mount. **

"It worked." Dora cheered and Andy sighed in relief.

**The crowd was making even more noise...Bagman was shouting something...but Harry's ears were not working properly anymore...listening wasn't important...****He swung his leg over the broom and kicked off from the ground. And a second later, something miraculous happened...****As he soared upward, as the wind rushed through his hair, as the crowd's faces became mere flesh-colored pinpnicks below, and the Horntail shrank to the size of a dog, he realized that he had left not only the ground behind, but also his fear...He was back where he belonged...**

Charlie let out a whoop and Bill cheered.**This was just another Quidditch match, that was all...just another Quidditch match, and that Horntail was just another ugly opposing team...**

"A very ugly opposing team." George said.

"Sort of like Slytherin. Once Lexi was kicked out, of course." Fred added, cowering under the Slytherin's glare.**He looked down at the clutch of eggs and spotted the gold one, gleaming against its cement-colored fellows, residing safely between the dragon's front legs. "Okay," Harry told himself, "diversionary tactics...let's go..."****He dived. The Horntail's head followed him; he knew what it was going to do and pulled out of the dive just in time; a jet of fire had been released exactly where he would have been had he not swerved away...but Harry didn't care...that was no more than dodging a Bludger...****"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled Bagman as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"**

"Brilliant!" Bella said, thoroughly caught up in the excitement of the task.**Harry soared higher in a circle; the Horntail was still following his progress; its head revolving on its long neck - if he kept this up, it would be nicely dizzy - but better not push it too long, or it would be breathing fire again -****Harry plummeted just as the Horntail opened its mouth, but this time he was less lucky - he missed the flames, but the tail came whipping up to meet him instead, and as he swerved to the left, one of the long spikes grazed his shoulder, ripping his robes -****He could feel it stinging, he could hear screaming and groans from the crowd, but the cut didn't seem to be deep...**

"Ouch." James winced.

**Now he zoomed around the back of the Horntail, and a possibility occurred to him...****The Horntail didn't seem to want to take off, she was too protective of her eggs. Though she writhed and twisted, furling and unfurling her wings and keeping those fearsome yellow eyes on Harry, she was afraid to move too far from them...but he had to persuade her to do it, or he'd never get near them...The trick was to do it carefully, gradually...**

"Good idea." Regulus nodded.**He began to fly, first this way, then the other, not near enough to make her breathe fire to stave him off, but still posing a sufficient threat to ensure she kept her eyes on him. Her head swayed this way and that, watching him out of those vertical pupils, her fangs bared...****He flew higher. The Horntail's head rose with him, her neck now stretched to its fullest extent, still swaying, like a snake before its charmer...****Harry rose a few more feet, and she let out a roar of exasperation. He was like a fly to her, a fly she was longing to swat; her tail thrashed again, but he was too high to reach now...She shot fire into the air, which he dodged...Her jaws opened wide...****"Come on," Harry hissed, swerving tantalizingly above her, "come on, come and get me...up you get now..."**

"Yes, come on." Michael whispered.**And then she reared, spreading her great, black, leathery wings at last, as wide as those of a small airplane - and Harry dived. Before the dragon knew what he had done, or where he had disappeared to, he was speeding toward the ground as fast as he could go, toward the eggs now unprotected by her clawed front legs - he had taken his hands off his Firebolt - he had seized the golden egg –**

"YES!" Cheers erupted around the room.

"He did it! He did it!" Ted cheered, laughing along with Andy. The older Blacks and Abraxas were regarding Harry with slight respect and Godric let out a cry of 'that's MY Gryffindor!'**And with a huge spurt of speed, he was off, he was soaring out over the stands, the heavy egg safely under his uninjured arm, and it was as though somebody had just turned the volume back up - for the first time, he became properly aware of the noise of the crowd, which was screaming and applauding as loudly as the Irish supporters at the World Cup -****"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!"**

"You showed 'em, Harry!" Sirius crowed.**Harry saw the dragon keepers rushing forward to subdue the Horntail, and, over at the entrance to the enclosure, Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, and Hagrid hurrying to meet him, all of them waving him toward them, their smiles evident even from this distance. He flew back over the stands, the noise of the crowd pounding his eardrums, and came in smoothly to land, his heart lighter than it had been in weeks...He had got through the first task, he had survived...****"That was excellent, Potter!" cried Professor McGonagall as he got off the Firebolt - which from her was extravagant praise. **

"Thank you." Harry said, beaming at the Transfiguration professor.

"Minnie's going soft!" The Prewett twins chimed, before quailing under their former professor's glare.

**He noticed that her hand shook as she pointed at his shoulder. "You'll need to see Madam Pomfrey before the judges give out your score...Over there, she's had to mop up Diggory already..."****"Yeh did it, Harry!" said Hagrid hoarsely. "Yeh did it! An' agains' the Horntail an' all, an' yeh know Charlie said that was the wors' -"**

"I work with dragons?" Charlie asked and Percy nodded proudly.

"Yep, in Romania."

**"Thanks, Hagrid," said Harry loudly, so that Hagrid wouldn't blunder on and reveal that he had shown Harry the dragons beforehand.****Professor Moody looked very pleased too; his magical eye was dancing in its socket.****"Nice and easy does the trick, Potter," he growled.****"Right then, Potter, the first aid tent, please..." said Professor McGonagall.****Harry walked out of the enclosure, still panting, and saw Madam Pomfrey standing at the mouth of a second tent, looking worried.****"Dragons!" she said, in a disgusted tone, pulling Harry inside. The tent was divided into cubicles; he could make out Cedric's shadow through the canvas, but Cedric didn't seem to be badly injured; he was sitting up, at least. Madam Pomfrey examined Harry's shoulder, talking furiously all the while. "Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? **

"A toad." Lexi said casually, before bursting into laughter along with the twins, much to the room's general confusion.

**You're very lucky...this is quite shallow...it'll need cleaning before I heal it up, though..."****She cleaned the cut with a dab of some purple liquid that smoked and stung, but then poked his shoulder with her wand, and he felt it heal instantly.****"Now, just sit quietly for a minute - sit! And then you can go and get your score."**

**XoOoX**

**"Harry Potter needs to hurry!" squeaked Dobby. "The second task starts in ten minutes, and Harry Potter -"**

"What?" James said. "Hurry, Harry, hurry!"**"Ten minutes?" Harry croaked. "Ten - ten minutes?"****He looked down at his watch. Dobby was right. It was twenty past nine. A large, dead weight seemed to fall through Harry's chest into his stomach.****"Hurry, Harry Potter!" squeaked Dobby, plucking at Harry's sleeve. "You is supposed to be down by the lake with the other champions, sir!"****"It's too late, Dobby," Harry said hopelessly. "I'm not doing the task, I don't know how -"**

"What is the task, by the way?" Lily asked.

"There was a song, wasn't there?" Lexi asked, before humming the tune under her breath and, eventually, singing the words to it.

"**Come seek us where our voices sound,****  
****We cannot sing above the ground,****  
****And while you're searching, ponder this:****  
****We've taken what you'll sorely miss,****  
****An hour long you'll have to look,****  
****And to recover what we took,****  
****But past an hour - the prospect's black,****  
****Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.**"

"You have a brilliant voice." Rowena commented, clapping slightly. Lexi flushed.

"It's a hobby."

"It's all you'd do back at headquarters." Fred said, before mockingly singing a line of a song. "Call up your brothers, and sisters and friends, we'll go back to the place where the night never ends…1" Lexi reached over and smacked him.

"Shut up."**"Harry Potter will do the task!" squeaked the elf. "Dobby knew Harry had not found the right book, so Dobby did it for him!"****"What?" said Harry. "But you don't know what the second task is -"****"Dobby knows, sir! Harry Potter has to go into the lake and find his Wheezy -"**

"His what?" Petunia asked, confused.

"His 'Wheezy'." Percy commented dryly, Lexi giggling madly next to him.**"Find my what?"****"- and take his Wheezy back from the merpeople!"****"What's a Wheezy?"****"Your Wheezy, sir, your Wheezy-Wheezy who is giving Dobby his sweater!"****Dobby plucked at the shrunken maroon sweater he was now wearing over his shorts.****"What?" Harry gasped. "They've got...they've got Ron?"****"The thing Harry Potter will miss most, sir!"**

"Awww, that's so sweet!" Most of the girls squealed.

"Y'know, I should feel offended." Lexi mused. "I mean, honestly. What about me?"

"Someone else would sorely miss you more." Percy murmured, Lexi just hearing. She was confused briefly, before shrugging it off.

**squeaked Dobby. "'But past an hour-'"****"- 'the prospect's black,'" Harry recited, staring, horror-struck, at the elf. "'Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.' Dobby - what've I got to do?"****"You has to eat this, sir!" squeaked the elf, and he put his hand in the pocket of his shorts and drew out a ball of what looked like slimy, grayish-green rat tails. "Right before you go into the lake, sir - gillyweed!"**

"Brilliant." Helga and Pomona breathed.**"What's it do?" said Harry, staring at the gillyweed.****"It will make Harry Potter breathe underwater, sir!"****"Dobby," said Harry frantically, "listen - are you sure about this?"****He couldn't quite forget that the last time Dobby had tried to "help" him, he had ended up with no bones in his right arm.**

"How?" Regulus asked, grimacing.

"Lockhart." Lexi stated, and just about everyone in the room shuddered.**"Dobby is quite sure, sir!" said the elf earnestly. "Dobby hears things, sir, he is a house-elf, he goes all over the castle as he lights the fires and mops the floors. Dobby heard Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody in the staffroom, talking about the next task...Dobby cannot let Harry Potter lose his Wheezy!"**

"Aww, so sweet!" Lily squealed.**Harry's doubts vanished. Jumping to his feet he pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, stuffed it into his bag, grabbed the gillyweed, and put it into his pocket, then tore out of the library with Dobby at his heels.****"Dobby is supposed to be in the kitchens, sir!" Dobby squealed as they burst into the corridor. "Dobby will be missed - good luck, Harry Potter, sir, good luck!"****"See you later, Dobby!" Harry shouted, and he sprinted along the corridor and down the stairs, three at a time.****The entrance hall contained a few last-minute stragglers, all leaving the Great Hall after breakfast and heading through the double oak doors to watch the second task. They stared as Harry flashed past, sending Colin and Dennis Creevey flying as he leapt down the stone steps and out onto the bright, chilly grounds.**

"Poor Creeveys." Fred and George said in amusement.**As he pounded down the lawn he saw that the seats that had encircled the dragons' enclosure in November were now ranged along the opposite bank, rising in stands that were packed to the bursting point and reflected in the lake below. The excited babble of the crowd echoed strangely across the water as Harry ran flat-out around the other side of the lake toward the judges, who were sitting at another gold-draped table at the water's edge. Cedric, Fleur, and Krum were beside the judges' table, watching Harry sprint toward them.****"I'm...here..." Harry panted, skidding to a halt in the mud and accidentally splattering Fleur's robes.****"Where have you been?" said a bossy, disapproving voice. "The task's about to start!"****Harry looked around. Percy Weasley was sitting at the judges' table - Mr. Crouch had failed to turn up again.**

"Ahh, Percykins has made an appearance." Lexi teased.

"I was such a prat." He said, shaking his head.**"Now, now, Percy!" said Ludo Bagman, who was looking intensely relieved to see Harry. "Let him catch his breath!"****Dumbledore smiled at Harry, but Karkaroff and Madame Maxime didn't look at all pleased to see him...It was obvious from the looks on their faces that they had thought he wasn't going to turn up.**

"Harry wouldn't give up that easily." Sirius said. "James wouldn't, and neither would Lily."**Harry bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath; he had a stitch in his side that felt as though he had a knife between his ribs, but there was no time to get rid of it; Ludo Bagman was now moving among the champions, spacing them along the bank at intervals of ten feet. Harry was on the very end of the line, next to Krum, who was wearing swimming trunks and was holding his wand ready.****"All right. Harry?" Bagman whispered as he moved Harry a few feet farther away from Krum. "Know what you're going to do?"****"Yeah," Harry panted, massaging his ribs.****Bagman gave Harry's shoulder a quick squeeze and returned to the judges' table; he pointed his wand at his throat as he had done at the World Cup, said, "Sonorus!" and his voice boomed out across the dark water toward the stands.****"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One...two...three!"**

"Come on, Harry." Remus murmured.**The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air; the stands erupted with cheers and applause; without looking to see what the other champions were doing, Harry pulled off his shoes and socks, pulled the handful of gillyweed out of his pocket, stuffed it into his mouth, and waded out into the lake.****It was so cold he felt the skin on his legs searing as though this were fire, not icy water. His sodden robes weighed him down as he walked in deeper; now the water was over his knees, and his rapidly numbing feet were slipping over silt and flat, slimy stones. He was chewing the gillyweed as hard and fast as he could; it felt unpleasantly slimy and rubbery, like octopus tentacles. Waist-deep in the freezing water he stopped, swallowed, and waited for something to happen.****He could hear laughter in the crowd and knew he must look stupid, walking into the lake without showing any sign of magical power. **

"I thought he had no bloody idea what he was doing." Lexi stated. "I began to panic, naturally."

**The part of him that was still dry was covered in goose pimples; half immersed in the icy water, a cruel breeze lifting his hair, Harry started to shiver violently. He avoided looking at the stands; the laughter was becoming louder, and there were catcalls and jeering from the Slytherins...**

"OI! I wasn't jeering!"**Then, quite suddenly, Harry felt as though an invisible pillow had been pressed over his mouth and nose. He tried to draw breath, but it made his head spin; his lungs were empty, and he suddenly felt a piercing pain on either side of his neck -****Harry clapped his hands around his throat and felt two large slits just below his ears, flapping in the cold air...He had gills. Without pausing to think, he did the only thing that made sense - he flung himself forward into the water.**

"Good." Salazar nodded.**The first gulp of icy lake water felt like the breath of life. His head had stopped spinning; he took another great gulp of water and felt it pass smoothly through his gills, sending oxygen back to his brain. He stretched out his hands in front of him and stared at them. They looked green and ghostly under the water, and they had become webbed. He twisted around and looked at his bare feet - they had become elongated and the toes were webbed too: It looked as though he had sprouted flippers.**

"Amazing." Tom breathed in awe.**The water didn't feel icy anymore either...on the contrary, he felt pleasantly cool and very light...Harry struck out once more, marveling at how far and fast his flipper-like feet propelled him through the water, and noticing how clearly he could see, and how he no longer seemed to need to blink. He had soon swum so far into the lake that he could no longer see the bottom. He flipped over and dived into its depths.****Silence pressed upon his ears as he soared over a strange, dark, foggy landscape. He could only see ten feet around him, so that as he sped through the water new scenes seemed to loom suddenly out of the incoming darkness: forests of rippling, tangled black weed, wide plains of mud littered with dull, glimmering stones. He swam deeper and deeper, out toward the middle of the lake, his eyes wide, staring through the eerily gray-lit water around him to the shadow beyond, where the water became opaque.**

"That sounds so…wow…" Petunia shook her head in disbelief.**Small fish flickered past him like silver darts. Once or twice he thought he saw something larger moving ahead of him, but when he got nearer, he discovered it to be nothing but a large, blackened log, or a dense clump of weed. There was no sign of any of the other champions, merpeople, Ron - nor, thankfully, the giant squid.**

"The squids a softie." The pranksters stated.**Light green weed stretched ahead of him as far as he could see, two feet deep, like a meadow of very overgrown grass. Harry was staring unblinkingly ahead of him, trying to discern shapes through the gloom...and then, without warning, something grabbed hold of his ankle.**

"Grindylow!" Remus yelped.**Harry twisted his body around and saw a grindylow, a small, horned water demon, poking out of the weed, its long fingers clutched tightly around Harry's leg, its pointed fangs bared - Harry stuck his webbed hand quickly inside his robes and fumbled for his wand. By the time he had grasped it, two more grindylows had risen out of the weed, had seized handfuls of Harry's robes, and were attempting to drag him down.**

"Use relashio! Use relashio!" Remus chanted. Sirius placed a hand on the lycanthrope's shoulder.

"Calm down, Rem. He'll be fine."**"Relashio!" Harry shouted, except that no sound came out...A large bubble issued from his mouth, and his wand, instead of sending sparks at the grindylows, pelted them with what seemed to be a jet of boiling water, for where it struck them, angry red patches appeared on their green skin. Harry pulled his ankle out of the grindylows grip and swam, as fast as he could, occasionally sending more jets of hot water over his shoulder at random; every now and then he felt one of the grindylows snatch at his foot again, and he kicked out, hard; finally, he felt his foot connect with a horned skull, and looking back, saw the dazed grindylow floating away, cross-eyed, while its fellows shook their fists at Harry and sank back into the weed.**

"Good, good." Remus breathed in relief.**Harry slowed down a little, slipped his wand back inside his robes, and looked around, listening again. He turned full circle in the water, the silence pressing harder than ever against his eardrums. He knew he must be even deeper in the lake now, but nothing was moving but the rippling weed.****"How are you getting on?"****Harry thought he was having a heart attack. He whipped around and saw Moaning Myrtle floating hazily in front of him, gazing at him through her thick, pearly glasses.****"Myrtle!" Harry tried to shout - but once again, nothing came out of his mouth but a very large bubble. Moaning Myrtle actually giggled.****"You want to try over there!" she said, pointing. "I won't come with you...I don't like them much, they always chase me when I get too close..."**

"Poor Myrtle." Lexi giggled.

"She's a…a ghost?" Petunia asked, sceptical.

"Yup. She haunts the girls bathroom and guards the Chamber of Secrets." Lexi said.

"What a great place for your chamber, Sal." Godric snickered. "In the girls bathroom."

"Shut it, Godric. And don't call me Sal!"**Harry gave her the thumbs-up to show his thanks and set off once more, careful to swim a bit higher over the weed to avoid any more grindylows that might be lurking there.****He swam on for what felt like at least twenty minutes. He was passing over vast expanses of black mud now, which swirled murkily as he disturbed the water. Then, at long last, he heard a snatch of haunting mersong.****"An hour long you'll have to look,****  
****And to recover what we took..."****  
****Harry swam faster and soon saw a large rock emerge out of the muddy water ahead. It had paintings of merpeople on it; they were carrying spears and chasing what looked like the giant squid. Harry swam on past the rock, following the mersong.****"...your time's half gone, so tarry not****  
****Lest what you seek stays here to rot..."**

"Ominous." Orion stated. Harry was trembling slightly. He wanted Ron to be safe.**  
****A cluster of crude stone dwellings stained with algae loomed suddenly out of the gloom on all sides. Here and there at the dark windows, Harry saw faces...faces that bore no resemblance at all to the painting of the mermaid in the prefects' bathroom...****The merpeople had grayish skin and long, wild, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of pebbles around their necks. They leered at Harry as he swam past; one or two of them emerged from their caves to watch him better, their powerful, silver fish tails beating the water, spears clutched in their hands.**

"Merpeople have always intrigued me." Lexi commented. "More than centaurs, but less than werewolves. I don't know why – maybe because of how their portrayal is skewed."

Petunia looked slightly shocked. "I was not expecting Merpeople to look like that."**Harry sped on, staring around, and soon the dwellings became more numerous; there were gardens of weed around some of them, and he even saw a pet grindylow tied to a stake outside one door. Merpeople were emerging on all sides now, watching him eagerly, pointing at his webbed hands and gills, talking behind their hands to one another. Harry sped around a corner and a very strange sight met his eyes.****A whole crowd of merpeople was floating in front of the houses that lined what looked like a mer-version of a village square. A choir of merpeople was singing in the middle, calling the champions toward them, and behind them rose a crude sort of statue; a gigantic merperson hewn from a boulder. Four people were bound tightly to the tail of the stone merperson.****Ron was tied between Hermione and Cho Chang. There was also a girl who looked no older than eight, whose clouds of silvery hair made Harry feel sure that she was Fleur Delacour's sister. All four of them appeared to be in a very deep sleep. Their heads were lolling onto their shoulders, and fine streams of bubbles kept issuing from their mouths.**

Many people shuddered at that description.**Harry sped toward the hostages, half expecting the merpeople to lower their spears and charge at him, but they did nothing. The ropes of weed tying the hostages to the statue were thick, slimy, and very strong. For a fleeting second he thought of the knife Sirius had bought him for Christmas - locked in his trunk in the castle a quarter of a mile away, no use to him whatsoever.**

"Oh, that is bad." Molly said, biting her lip.**He looked around. Many of the merpeople surrounding them were carrying spears. He swam swiftly toward a seven-foot-tall merman with a long green beard and a choker of shark fangs and tried to mime a request to borrow the spear. The merman laughed and shook his head.****"We do not help," he said in a harsh, croaky voice.**

"Pleasant." Cissy said, wrinkling her nose.**"Come ON!" Harry said fiercely (but only bubbles issued from his mouth), and he tried to pull the spear away from the merman, but the merman yanked it back, still shaking his head and laughing.****Harry swirled around, staring about. Something sharp...anything...****There were rocks littering the lake bottom. He dived and snatched up a particularly jagged one and returned to the statue. **

"Good." Minerva said. "Use whatever you can."

**He began to hack at the ropes binding Ron, and after several minutes' hard work, they broke apart. Ron floated, unconscious, a few inches above the lake bottom, drifting a little in the ebb of the water.****Harry looked around. There was no sign of any of the other champions. What were they playing at? Why didn't they hurry up? He turned back to Hermione, raised the jagged rock, and began to hack at her bindings too –**

"Oh, Harry." Andy shook her head. "She's going to be fine – they're not going to let them die."**At once, several pairs of strong gray hands seized him. Half a dozen mermen were pulling him away from Hermione, shaking their green-haired heads, and laughing.****"You take your own hostage," one of them said to him. "Leave the others..."****"No way!" said Harry furiously - but only two large bubbles came out.****Your task is to retrieve your own friend...leave the others..."****She's my friend too!" Harry yelled, gesturing toward Hermione, an enormous silver bubble emerging soundlessly from his lips. "And I don't want them to die either!"**

"He's too noble." Bella said, shaking her head.

"I wouldn't have him any other way." Lexi retorted. "He's the best person I have ever met. He's noble, honest, brave and would do anything for those he considers his friends and family! He's nobler than most other Gryffindors!"**Cho's head was on Hermione's shoulder; the small silver-haired girl was ghostly green and pale. Harry struggled to fight off the mermen, but they laughed harder than ever, holding him back. Harry looked wildly around. Where were the other champions? Would he have time to take Ron to the surface and come back down for Hermione and the others? Would he be able to find them again? He looked down at his watch to see how much time was left - it had stopped working.**

"That's what happens when you put an electrical item in water." Lily commented dryly.**But then the merpeople around him pointed excitedly over his head. Harry looked up and saw Cedric swimming toward them. There was an enormous bubble around his head, which made his features look oddly wide and stretched.**

"Good, one of them will be fine, now." Tom said, sighing in relief.**"Got lost!" he mouthed, looking panic-stricken. "Fleur and Krum're coming now!"****Feeling enormously relieved, Harry watched Cedric pull a knife out of his pocket and cut Cho free. He pulled her upward and out of sight.****Harry looked around, waiting. Where were Fleur and Krum? Time was getting short, and according to the song, the hostages would be lost after an hour...**

"Taking it too literally." Lucius said. "It says that to get them to complete it within the time limit, I'm guessing."**The merpeople started screeching animatedly. Those holding Harry loosened their grip, staring behind them. Harry turned and saw something monstrous cutting through the water toward them: a human body in swimming trunks with the head of a shark...It was Krum. He appeared to have transfigured himself - but badly.**

"Much worse than us." Sirius boasted. Remus rolled his eyes at his friend.**The shark-man swam straight to Hermione and began snapping and biting at her ropes; the trouble was that Krum's new teeth were positioned very awkwardly for biting anything smaller than a dolphin, and Harry was quite sure that if Krum wasn't careful, he was going to rip Hermione in half. Darting forward. Harry hit Krum hard on the shoulder and held up the jagged stone. Krum seized it and began to cut Hermione free. Within seconds, he had done it; he grabbed Hermione around the waist, and without a backward glance, began to rise rapidly with her toward the surface.**

"Two down, two to go." Lucius stated, leaning in further in anticipation.

"And Harry's going to wait until Fleur gets there." Rose sighed, exasperated.**Now what? Harry thought desperately. If he could be sure that Fleur was coming...But still no sign. There was nothing to be done except...****He snatched up the stone, which Krum had dropped, but the mermen now closed in around Ron and the little girl, shaking their heads at him. Harry pulled out his wand.**

"And here's his noble streak." Percy sighed, shaking his head. Little Harry looked up at him with wide, green eyes.

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked, sounding worried.

"Of course it's not." Helga said, elbowing Salazar in the side when he opened his mouth, probably to disagree teasingly.**"Get out of the way!"****Only bubbles flew out of his mouth, but he had the distinct impression that the mermen had understood him, because they suddenly stopped laughing. Their yellowish eyes were fixed upon Harry's wand, and they looked scared. There might be a lot more of them than there were of him, but Harry could tell, by the looks on their faces, that they knew no more magic than the giant squid did.**

"Of course not, they're merpeople. They don't need to know magic. They're magic themselves." Severus scoffed.**"You've got until three!" Harry shouted; a great stream of bubbles burst from him, but he held up three fingers to make sure they got the message. "One..." (he put down a finger) "two..."(he put down a second one) -****They scattered. Harry darted forward and began to hack at the ropes binding the small girl to the statue, and at last she was free. He seized the little girl around the waist, grabbed the neck of Ron's robes, and kicked off from the bottom.**"Ok, he's got them. Now he needs to hurry and get to the surface." Pollux stated, anticipated against his will.

**It was very slow work. He could no longer use his webbed hands to propel himself forward; he worked his flippers furiously, but Ron and Fleur's sister were like potato-filled sacks dragging him back down...He fixed his eyes skyward, though he knew he must still be very deep, the water above him was so dark...****Merpeople were rising with him. He could see them swirling around him with ease, watching him struggle through the water...Would they pull him back down to the depths when the time was up? Did they perhaps eat humans? **

"No and no." Lexi said, mainly to calm Petunia who was hyperventilating.

**Harry's legs were seizing up with the effort to keep swimming; his shoulders were aching horribly with the effort of dragging Ron and the girl...****He was drawing breath with extreme difficulty. He could feel pain on the sides of his neck again...he was becoming very aware of how wet the water was in his mouth...yet the darkness was definitely thinning now...he could see daylight above him...**

"Come on, you're almost there!" Dora cheered.**He kicked hard with his flippers and discovered that they were nothing more than feet...water was flooding through his mouth into his lungs...he was starting to feel dizzy, but he knew light and air were only ten feet above him...he had to get there...he had to...****Harry kicked his legs so hard and fast it felt as though his muscles were screaming in protest; his very brain felt waterlogged, he couldn't breathe, he needed oxygen, he had to keep going, he could not stop -****And then he felt his head break the surface of the lake; **

Many let out sighs of relief at this.

**wonderful, cold, clear air was making his wet face sting; he gulped it down, feeling as though he had never breathed properly before, and, panting, pulled Ron and the little girl up with him. All around him, wild, green-haired heads were emerging out of the water with him, but they were smiling at him.****The crowd in the stands was making a great deal of noise; shouting and screaming, they all seemed to be on their feet; **

"I was bloody terrified." Lexi commented.

"Not as much as I was." Percy added, shuddering as he remembered seeing Ron, looking as though he was going to die.

**Harry had the impression they thought that Ron and the little girl might be dead, but they were wrong...both of them had opened their eyes; the girl looked scared and confused, but Ron merely expelled a great spout of water, blinked in the bright light, turned to Harry, and said, "Wet, this, isn't it?" Then he spotted Fleur's sister. "What did you bring her for?"****"Fleur didn't turn up, I couldn't leave her," Harry panted.****"Harry, you prat," said Ron, "you didn't take that song thing seriously, did you? Dumbledore wouldn't have let any of us drown!"**

The tension cracked at this as everyone burst into hysterical, relieved laughter.**"The song said -"****"It was only to make sure you got back inside the time limit!" said Ron. "I hope you didn't waste time down there acting the hero!"**

"Of course he did." Fred said.

"He wouldn't be Harry if he didn't." George finished. Harry pouted.**Harry felt both stupid and annoyed. It was all very well for Ron; he'd been asleep, he hadn't felt how eerie it was down in the lake, surrounded by spear-carrying merpeople who'd looked more than capable of murder.****"C'mon," Harry said shortly, "help me with her, I don't think she can swim very well."****They pulled Fleur's sister through the water, back toward the bank where the judges stood watching,**_** Lexi standing next to Percy, escaping from the crowd to peer nervously out into the lake,**_

"How'd you manage that?" Gideon asked.

"It does you good to be friends with Percy." Lexi smirked, nudging the boy in the side playfully. Percy looked mock insulted.

"Is that the only reason you like me? To get privileges?"

"Yes, Perce. Of course it is."

**twenty merpeople accompanying them like a guard of honor, singing their horrible screechy songs.****Harry could see Madam Pomfrey fussing over Hermione, Krum, Cedric, and Cho, all of whom were wrapped in thick blankets.**

"Good." Helga and Pomona nodded, glad that they were being kept warm.**Dumbledore and Ludo Bagman stood beaming at Harry and Ron from the bank as they swam nearer, but Percy, who looked very white and somehow much younger than usual, came splashing out to meet them. **

"You must have been terrified." Fabian said.

"'Course I was." Percy said. "I thought my brother was dead, for crying out loud. I panicked."

_**Lexi soon joined him, going to help Fleur's sister. **_**Meanwhile Madame Maxime was trying to restrain Fleur Delacour, who was quite hysterical, fighting tooth and nail to return to the water.****"Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Is she alive? Is she 'urt?"**

"I always liked Fleur." Lexi said. "I don't know why your family hated her so much."

Fred and George shifted guiltily.

"I only really got to know her before the battle, but she seemed nice enough." Percy agreed.**"She's fine!" Harry tried to tell her, but he was so exhausted he could hardly talk, let alone shout.****Percy seized Ron and was dragging him back to the bank ("Gerroff, Percy, I'm all right!"); Dumbledore and Bagman were pulling Harry upright; Fleur had broken free of Madame Maxime and was hugging her sister.**_**Lexi pulled herself up, grabbing the hand Percy offered her gratefully.**_

"Thanks for that."

"Don't mention it."**"It was ze grindylows...zey attacked me...oh Gabrielle, I thought...I thought..."****"Come here, you," said Madam Pomfrey. She seized Harry and pulled him over to Hermione and the others, wrapped him so tightly in a blanket that he felt as though he were in a straitjacket, and forced a measure of very hot potion down his throat. Steam gushed out of his ears.**

"Pepper-up potion." Sirius and Regulus nodded knowledgeably.**"Harry, well done!" Hermione cried. "You did it, you found out how all by yourself!"****"Well -" said Harry. He would have told her about Dobby, but he had just noticed Karkaroff watching him. He was the only judge who had not left the table; the only judge not showing signs of pleasure and relief that Harry, Ron, and Fleur's sister had got back safely. "Yeah, that's right," said Harry, raising his voice slightly so that Karkaroff could hear him.**

"Never liked him." Lexi pulled a face.**"You haff a water beetle in your hair, Herm-own-ninny," said Krum. Harry had the impression that Krum was drawing her attention back onto himself; perhaps to remind her that he had just rescued her from the lake, but Hermione brushed away the beetle impatiently and said, "You're well outside the time limit, though, Harry...Did it take you ages to find us?"**

"Poor Krum." Lily giggled.

"He really liked her, too." Lexi said. "I felt a little bit sorry for him."**"No...I found you okay..."****Harry's feeling of stupidity was growing. Now he was out of the water, it seemed perfectly clear that Dumbledore's safety precautions wouldn't have permitted the death of a hostage just because their champion hadn't turned up. Why hadn't he just grabbed Ron and gone? He would have been first back...Cedric and Krum hadn't wasted time worrying about anyone else; they hadn't taken the mersong seriously...**

"Still, he got back." James pointed out.

"The nobleness should gain him extra points, too." Severus pointed out.**Dumbledore was crouching at the water's edge, deep in conversation with what seemed to be the chief merperson, a particularly wild and ferocious-looking female. He was making the same sort of screechy noises that the merpeople made when they were above water; clearly, Dumbledore could speak Mermish. **

"Wicked."

**Finally he straightened up, turned to his fellow judges, and said, "A conference before we give the marks, I think."****The judges went into a huddle. Madam Pomfrey had gone to rescue Ron from Percy's clutches; **

Everyone, aside from Percy, sniggered at this. Percy looked offended.

**she led him over to Harry and the others, gave him a blanket and some Pepperup Potion, then went to fetch Fleur and her sister. Fleur had many cuts on her face and arms and her robes were torn, but she didn't seem to care, nor would she allow Madam Pomfrey to clean them.****"Look after Gabrielle," she told her, and then she turned to Harry. "You saved 'er," she said breathlessly. "Even though she was not your 'ostage."****"Yeah," said Harry, who was now heartily wishing he'd left all three girls tied to the statue.**

"Harsh, Harry." Cissy said, her voice teasing. "Very harsh."**Fleur bent down, kissed Harry twice on each cheek (he felt his face burn and wouldn't have been surprised if steam was coming out of his ears again), then said to Ron, "And you too-you 'elped -"****"Yeah," said Ron, looking extremely hopeful, "yeah, a bit -"****Fleur swooped down on him too and kissed him. **

Those who knew Ron personally snorted at this.

**Hermione looked simply furious, but just then, Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice boomed out beside them, making them all jump, and causing the crowd in the stands to go very quiet.****"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows...****"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."****Applause from the stands.****"I deserved zero," said Fleur throatily, shaking her magnificent head.**

"This Fleur sounds decent enough." Andy concluded. "Why don't some of the Weasley's not like her?" Lexi shrugged, not knowing herself.**"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour." **

"Go Cedric!" Regulus cheered.

**Enormous cheers from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd; Harry saw Cho give Cedric a glowing look. "We therefore award him forty-seven points."****Harry's heart sank. If Cedric had been outside the time limit, he most certainly had been.****"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points."****Karkaroff clapped particularly hard, looking very superior.**

"He seems slightly…arrogant." Lucius said.

"And you're not, Lucy?" Regulus teased, laughing when the blond glared at him.**"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued. "He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own."****Ron and Hermione both gave Harry half-exasperated, half-commiserating looks.**

"Oh, Harry."Rowena shook her head, eyes sparkling.**"Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look, **

Many people snorted at this. Tom giggled.

**"feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However...Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points."****Harry's stomach leapt - he was now tying for first place with Cedric. Ron and Hermione, caught by surprise, stared at Harry, then laughed and started applauding hard with the rest of the crowd**_** and Lexi let out an excited whoop**_**.****"There you go. Harry!" Ron shouted over the noise. "You weren't being thick after all - you were showing moral fiber!"**

"As always." Percy laughed. Harry let out a giggle.

**XoOoX**

**"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! **

"Oh." Lexi shivered slightly at this and Percy drew an arm around her shoulders at this.

**Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each - Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!"**

The readers broke into cheers at this.

**The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky. "In second place, with eighty points - Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in third place - Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"****Harry could just make out Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron,**_** Lexi**_** and Hermione applauding Fleur politely, halfway up the stands. He waved up at them, and they waved back, beaming at him.**

"As we would." Molly said, smiling slightly.

"I'm there!" Bill looked really excited.**"So...on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three - two - one -"****He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forward into the maze.**

"So it begins." Lexi whispered. Tom sensed something was wrong, and huddled closer to Lexi. The older girl wrapped him into a sideways hug.**The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment they entered the maze. Harry felt almost as though he were underwater again. He pulled out his wand, muttered, "Lumos," and heard Cedric do the same just behind him.****After about fifty yards, they reached a fork. They looked at each other.****"See you," Harry said, and he took the left one, while Cedric took the right.**

"They should have stayed together." Andy said, shivering slightly. She remembered that Cedric died. This was going to be it, she realised, looking at Lexi who was leaning into Percy's embrace. This was when the poor boy died.**Harry heard Bagman's whistle for the second time. Krum had entered the maze. Harry sped up. His chosen path seemed completely deserted. He turned right, and hurried on, holding his wand high over his head, trying to see as far ahead as possible. Still, there was nothing in sight.**

Flitwick frowned slightly. That didn't seem right.**Bagman's whistle blew in the distance for the third time. All of the champions were now inside.****Harry kept looking behind him. The old feeling that he was being watched was upon him. The maze was growing darker with every passing minute as the sky overhead deepened to navy. He reached a second fork.****"Point Me," he whispered to his wand, holding it flat in his palm.****The wand spun around once and pointed toward his right, into solid hedge. **

"Useful." Bella let out an amused snort.

**That way was north, and he knew that he needed to go northwest for the center of the maze. The best he could do was to take the left fork and go right again as soon as possible.****The path ahead was empty too, and when Harry reached a right turn and took it, he again found his way unblocked. Harry didn't know why, but the lack of obstacles was unnerving him. Surely he should have met something by now? It felt as though the maze were luring him into a false sense of security. Then he heard movement right behind him. He held out his wand, ready to attack, but its beam fell only upon Cedric, who had just hurried out of a path on the right-hand side. Cedric looked severely shaken. The sleeve of his robe was smoking.****"Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts!" **

"Blast-Ended Skrewts?" Eileen's lips were twitching with concealed humour.

"Erm…it's a long story."

**he hissed. "They're enormous - I only just got away!"****He shook his head and dived out of sight, along another path. Keen to put plenty of distance between himself and the skrewts, Harry hurried off again. Then, as he turned a corner, he saw...a dementor gliding toward him. **

"WHAT?" Many people screeched, causing Remus to whimper and cover his ears with his hands.

"Guys, Rem has sensitive hearing – you're killing his ears." Sirius said, removing the hands from the lycanthrope's ears and rubbing them soothingly. Lexi couldn't help but smirk.

"After these extracts, I think we should take a break…they're going to be stressful." She suggested, many nodding in agreement.

"And maybe hear you sing?" Dora sounded hopeful. Lexi sighed.

"Alright, I'll sing for you." Dora clapped her hands happily. Percy smiled. He hadn't heard Lexi sing before, well, aside from the Task's Song, but that didn't count.

**Twelve feet tall, its face hidden by its hood, its rotting, scabbed hands outstretched, it advanced, sensing its way blindly toward him. Harry could hear its rattling breath; he felt clammy coldness stealing over him, but knew what he had to do...****He summoned the happiest thought he could, concentrated with all his might on the thought of getting out of the maze and celebrating with Ron**_**, Lexi**_** and Hermione, raised his wand, and cried, "Expecto Patronum!"****A silver stag erupted from the end of Harry's wand and galloped toward the dementor, which fell back and tripped over the hem of its robes...Harry had never seen a dementor stumble.**

"Then it's not a Dementor." Albus said.**"Hang on!" he shouted, advancing in the wake of his silver Patronus, "You're a boggart! Riddikulus!"**

"His worst fear – fear itself." Horace realised.

"Wise." Rowena inclined her head. "Very wise."**There was a loud crack, and the shape-shifter exploded in a wisp of smoke. The silver stag faded from sight. Harry wished it could have stayed, he could have used some company...but he moved on, quickly and quietly as possible, listening hard, his wand held high once more.****Left...right...left again...Twice he found himself facing dead ends. He did the Four-Point Spell again and found that he was going too far east. He turned back, took a right turn, and saw an odd golden mist floating ahead of him.**

Filius looked interested at this. It seemed like one of his obstacles.**Harry approached it cautiously, pointing the wand's beam at it. This looked like some kind of enchantment. He wondered whether he might be able to blast it out of the way.****"Reducio!" he said.****The spell shot straight through the mist, leaving it intact. He supposed he should have known better; the Reductor Curse was for solid objects. What would happen if he walked through the mist? Was it worth chancing it, or should he double back?****He was still hesitating when a scream shattered the silence.****"Fleur?" Harry yelled.**

"Oh my!" Dorea held up a hand to her mouth. "Was she ok?"

"She was fine." Lexi assured her. "It was Devil's Snare."**There was silence. He stared all around him. What had happened to her? Her scream seemed to have come from somewhere ahead. He took a deep breath and ran through the enchanted mist.**

"He ran through it to help his opponent?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Too noble for his own good." Percy sighed.**The world turned upside down. Harry was hanging from the ground, with his hair on end, his glasses dangling off his nose, threatening to fall into the bottomless sky. **

Tom shuddered. "Creepy."

**He clutched them to the end of his nose and hung there, terrified. It felt as though his feet were glued to the grass, which had now become the ceiling. Below him the dark, star-spangled heavens stretched endlessly. He felt as though if he tried to move one of his feet, he would fall away from the earth completely.****Think, he told himself, as all the blood rushed to his head, think...****But not one of the spells he had practiced had been designed to combat a sudden reversal of ground and sky. Did he dare move his foot? He could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He had two choices - try and move, or send up red sparks, and get rescued and disqualified from the task.****He shut his eyes, so he wouldn't be able to see the view of endless space below him, and pulled his right foot as hard as he could away from the grassy ceiling.**

"Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall." Lily chanted under her breath.**Immediately, the world righted itself. Harry fell forward onto his knees onto the wonderfully solid ground. He felt temporarily limp with shock. He took a deep, steadying breath, then got up again and hurried forward, looking back over his shoulder as he ran away from the golden mist, which twinkled innocently at him in the moonlight.**

"Looks can be deceiving." John murmured, glancing over towards his son.**He paused at a junction of two paths and looked around for some sign of Fleur. He was sure it had been she who had screamed. What had she met? Was she all right? There was no sign of red sparks - did that mean she had got herself out of trouble, or was she in such trouble that she couldn't reach her wand? Harry took the right fork with a feeling of increasing unease...but at the same time, he couldn't help thinking. One champion down...**

"That's not nice. To think that." Harry said, shaking his head.**The cup was somewhere close by, and it sounded as though Fleur was no longer in the running. He'd got this far, hadn't he? What if he actually managed to win? Fleetingly, and for the first time since he'd found himself champion, he saw again that image of himself, raising the Triwizard Cup in front of the rest of the school...**

Lexi couldn't help but wince at that.**He met nothing for ten minutes, but kept running into dead ends. Twice he took the same wrong turning. Finally, he found a new route and started to jog along it, his wandlight waving, making his shadow flicker and distort on the hedge walls. Then he rounded another corner and found himself facing a Blast-Ended Skrewt.**

"Oh, that's bad." Fred and George winced.**Cedric was right - it was enormous. Ten feet long, it looked more like a giant scorpion than anything. Its long sting was curled over its back. Its thick armor glinted in the light from Harry's wand, which he pointed at it.**

"That sounds nasty." Severus winced.**"Stupefy!"****The spell hit the skrewt's armor and rebounded; Harry ducked just in time, but could smell burning hair; it had singed the top of his head. The skrewt issued a blast of fire from its end and flew forward toward him.**

"Hit it underneath!" Serena yelled.**"Impedimenta!" Harry yelled. The spell hit the skrewt's armor again and ricocheted off; Harry staggered back a few paces and fell over. "IMPEDIMENTA!"****The skrewt was inches from him when it froze - he had managed to hit it on its fleshy, shell-less underside. Panting, Harry pushed himself away from it and ran, hard, in the opposite direction - the Impediment Curse was not permanent; the skrewt would be regaining the use of its legs at any moment.**

"Get out of there, cub!" Remus yelled.**He took a left path and hit a dead end, a right, and hit another; forcing himself to stop, heart hammering, he performed the Four-Point Spell again, backtracked, and chose a path that would take him northwest.****He had been hurrying along the new path for a few minutes, when he heard something in the path running parallel to his own that made him stop dead.****"What are you doing?" yelled Cedric's voice. "What the hell d'you think you're doing?"****And then Harry heard Krum's voice.****"Crucio!"**

"WHAT?" Was the general outcry.

"You think he's 'amazing'?" Charlus asked Lexi, outraged.

"You've got it wr-"

"Bloody Slytherin."

Suddenly, Sirius was faced with three wands in his face, all from a group of very angry red-heads.

"Don't you DARE insult her like that!" Fred growled. He couldn't care less that he looked up to the boy in front of him. No one, and he meant no one, messed with his little sister in all but blood.

Bellatrix shuddered slightly. She had an aversion to the cruciatus curse, ever since her mother used it to punish Andromeda. She cast a worried look at Andy, who was burying herself into Ted's embrace. Something clicked in that one moment. Suddenly, Bella couldn't care less that her sister had married a Muggleborn, that she had left them, because the man made her happy. Because Andy loved him and he loved her back.

"Bella?" Bellatrix snapped out of her musing by Narcissa's voice. "Are you alright? You went really quiet for a moment. I thought you didn't like the curse?"

"I don't, Cissa." She said, looking her sister in the eye. "I want to apologise to Andy, though. I miss her. I was wrong about Ted."

"I miss her too, Bella."

Suring this conversation, Sirius had been given a good talking to by Remus and had apologised to Lexi. She said that it didn't matter, that it was already forgiven, though the redness around her eyes said otherwise.

"Please continue reading." She said. "I want to get this over and done with."**The air was suddenly full of Cedric's yells. Horrified, Harry began sprinting up his path, trying to find a way into Cedric's. When none appeared, he tried the Reductor Curse again. It wasn't very effective, but it burned a small hole in the hedge through which Harry forced his leg, kicking at the thick brambles and branches until they broke and made an opening; he struggled through it, tearing his robes, and looking to his right, saw Cedric jerking and twitching on the ground, Krum standing over him.****Harry pulled himself up and pointed his wand at Krum just as Krum looked up. Krum turned and began to run.****"Stupefy!" Harry yelled.****The spell hit Krum in the back; he stopped dead in his tracks, fell forward, and lay motionless, facedown in the grass. Harry-dashed over to Cedric, who had stopped twitching and was lying there panting, his hands over his face.**

Lexi shuddered slightly at the twitching part, remembering the Department of Mysteries battle, and Umbridge…**"Are you all right?" Harry said roughly, grabbing Cedric's arm.****"Yeah," panted Cedric. "Yeah...I don't believe it...he crept up behind me...I heard him, I turned around, and he had his wand on me..."****Cedric got up. He was still shaking. He and Harry looked down at Krum.****"I can't believe this...I thought he was all right," Harry said, staring at Krum.**

"He is." Lexi said firmly, ignoring the disbelieving looks being sent her way. Fred and George nodded along with her.**"So did I," said Cedric.****"Did you hear Fleur scream earlier?" said Harry.****"Yeah," said Cedric. "You don't think Krum got her too?"****"I don't know," said Harry slowly.****"Should we leave him here?" Cedric muttered.****"No," said Harry. "I reckon we should send up red sparks. Someone'll come and collect him...otherwise he'll probably be eaten by a skrewt."**

"Good." Petunia said. "No matter what happened, he shouldn't be left for dead."**"He'd deserve it," Cedric muttered, but all the same, he raised his wand and shot a shower of red sparks into the air, which hovered high above Krum, marking the spot where he lay.****Harry and Cedric stood there in the darkness for a moment, looking around them. Then Cedric said, "Well...I s'pose we'd better go on..."****"What?" said Harry. "Oh...yeah...right..."****It was an odd moment. He and Cedric had been briefly united against Krum - now the fact that they were opponents came back to Harry. The two of them proceeded up the dark path without speaking, then Harry turned left, and Cedric right. Cedric's footsteps soon died away.**

Everyone winced at that, knowing that 'died' would no longer be a simple word.**Harry moved on, continuing to use the Four-Point Spell, making sure he was moving in the right direction. It was between him and Cedric now. His desire to reach the cup first was now burning stronger than ever, but he could hardly believe what he'd just seen Krum do. The use of an Unforgivable Curse on a fellow human being meant a life term in Azkaban, that was what Moody had told them. Krum surely couldn't have wanted the Triwizard Cup that badly...**

"No one in their right mind would…" Lucius trailed off, before his eyes grew wide. "The imperius curse!"

"Exactly!" Lexi sat back, looking smug. "Krum is just as innocent as I am a Slytherin."

Sirius had the decency to look ashamed.

**Harry sped up.****Every so often he hit more dead ends, but the increasing darkness made him feel sure he was getting near the heart of the maze. Then, as he strode down a long, straight path, he saw movement once again, and his beam of wandlight hit an extraordinary creature, one which he had only seen in picture form, in his Monster Book of Monsters.**_**One which Lexi had an odd fascination with.**_

"Centaur."

"Sphinx."

"Acromantula."

Lexi promptly shuddered. "Oh God, don't even mention acromantulas. They're so creepy. And a centaur is NOT in the Monster Book of Monsters, Fred."

"So it's a sphinx." Percy said, looking proud. "I was right!"**It was a sphinx. It had the body of an over-large lion: great clawed paws and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shaped eyes upon Harry as he approached. He raised his wand, hesitating. She was not crouching as if to spring, but pacing from side to side of the path, blocking his progress. Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice.****"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."****"So...so will you move, please?"**

Everyone laughed at this.

**said Harry, knowing what the answer was going to be.****"No," she said, continuing to pace. "Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess - I let you pass. Answer wrongly - I attack. Remain silent - I will let you walk away from me unscathed."****Harry's stomach slipped several notches. It was Hermione who was good at this sort of thing, not him. He weighed his chances. If the riddle was too hard, he could keep silent, get away from the sphinx unharmed, and try and find an alternative route to the center.****"Okay," he said. "Can I hear the riddle?"****The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very middle of the path, and recited:****"First think of the person who lives in disguise,****  
****Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.****  
****Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,****  
****The middle of middle and end of the end?****  
****And finally give me the sound often heard****  
****During the search for a hard-to-find word.****  
****Now string them together, and answer me this,****  
****Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"**

"Hmmm…"

"Deals in secrets…lies…disguise…" Remus looked thoughtful. "A spy, possibly?"

"Last thing to mend?" Regulus frowned, deep in thought. "Middle of middle? End of the end? That doesn't make sense!" Sirius laughed.

"It's a letter! D is at the end of 'the end' and d is in the middle of 'middle'!"

"The sound often heardfor a hard to find word." Andy mused.

"Like 'um'." Michael suggested. "Oh, what about 'er'?"

"So it's a spider!" James concluded proudly.**  
**

**Harry gaped at her.****"Could I have it again...more slowly?" he asked tentatively. She blinked at him, smiled, and repeated the poem. "All the clues add up to a creature I wouldn't want to kiss?" Harry asked.****She merely smiled her mysterious smile. Harry took that for a "yes." Harry cast his mind around. There were plenty of animals he wouldn't want to kiss; his immediate thought was a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but something told him that wasn't the answer.**

Everyone snorted in amusement.

**He'd have to try and work out the clues...****"A person in disguise," Harry muttered, staring at her, "who lies...er...that'd be a - an impostor. No, that's not my guess! A - a spy? I'll come back to that...could you give me the next clue again, please?"****She repeated the next lines of the poem.****"'The last thing to mend,'" Harry repeated. "Er...no idea...'middle of middle'...could I have the last bit again?"****She gave him the last four lines.****"'The sound often heard during the search for a hard-to-find word,'" said Harry. "Er...that'd be...er...hang on - 'er'! Er's a sound!"**

Lexi couldn't help but laugh at that.**The sphinx smiled at him.****"Spy...er...spy...er..." said Harry, pacing up and down. "A creature I wouldn't want to kiss...a spider!"****The sphinx smiled more broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for him to pass.****"Thanks!" said Harry, and, amazed at his own brilliance, he dashed forward.**

"Modest, aren't you?" Remus teased, ruffling his cub's hair. Harry laughed, beaming at his 'uncle'.**He had to be close now, he had to be...His wand was telling him he was bang on course; as long as he didn't meet anything too horrible, he might have a chance...****Harry broke into a run. He had a choice of paths up ahead. "Point Me!" he whispered again to his wand, and it spun around and pointed him to the right-hand one. He dashed up this one and saw light ahead.****The Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth a hundred yards away. Suddenly a dark figure hurtled out onto the path in front of him.****Cedric was going to get there first. Cedric was sprinting as fast as he could toward the cup, and Harry knew he would never catch up, Cedric was much taller, had much longer legs -****Then Harry saw something immense over a hedge to his left, moving quickly along a path that intersected with his own; it was moving so fast Cedric was about to run into it, and Cedric, his eyes on the cup, had not seen it -****"Cedric!" Harry bellowed. "On your left!"****Cedric looked around just in time to hurl himself past the thing and avoid colliding with it, but in his haste, he tripped. Harry saw Cedric's wand fly out of his hand as a gigantic spider stepped into the path and began to bear down upon Cedric.**

"Oh my God!" Petunia had never liked spiders in the first place, but a giant spider? Big enough to kill a person? "I'm gonna be sick."**"Stupefy!" Harry yelled; the spell hit the spider's gigantic, hairy black body, but for all the good it did, he might as well have thrown a stone at it; the spider jerked, scuttled around, and ran at Harry instead.****"Stupefy! Impedimenta! Stupefy!"****But it was no use - the spider was either so large, or so magical, that the spells were doing no more than aggravating it. **

"Their skin is very tough." Percy said knowledgeably, ignoring the shaking Lexi who had Tom in a death-grip. "Oh, and their poisonous."

"Not the moment, dear." Lexi said, hysteria creeping through her voice.

**Harry had one horrifying glimpse of eight shining black eyes and razor-sharp pincers before it was upon him.****He was lifted into the air in its front legs; struggling madly, he tried to kick it; his leg connected with the pincers and next moment he was in excruciating pain. He could hear Cedric yelling "Stupefy!" too, but his spell had no more effect than Harry's - Harry raised his wand as the spider opened its pincers once more and shouted "Expelliarmus!"****It worked - the Disarming Spell made the spider drop him, but that meant that Harry fell twelve feet onto his already injured leg, which crumpled beneath him. **

Everyone winced at that.

**Without pausing to think, he aimed high at the spider's underbelly, as he had done with the skrewt, and shouted "Stupefy!''just as Cedric yelled the same thing.****The two spells combined did what one alone had not: The spider keeled over sideways, flattening a nearby hedge, and strewing the path with a tangle of hairy legs.**

Shudders came from all the girls.

"That's just gross." Petunia mumbled, definitely looking a little green.**"Harry!" he heard Cedric shouting. "You all right? Did it fall on you?"****"No," Harry called back, panting. He looked down at his leg. It was bleeding freely. He could see some sort of thick, gluey secretion from the spider's pincers on his torn robes. **

"That's the venom." Percy was pale. His little brother had been that close to being killed?

**He tried to get up, but his leg was shaking badly and did not want to support his weight. He leaned against the hedge, gasping for breath, and looked around.****Cedric was standing feet from the Triwizard Cup, which was gleaming behind him.****"Take it, then," Harry panted to Cedric. "Go on, take it. You're there."****But Cedric didn't move. He merely stood there, looking at Harry. Then he turned to stare at the cup. Harry saw the longing expression on his face in its golden light. Cedric looked around at Harry again, who was now holding onto the hedge to support himself. Cedric took a deep breath.****"You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here."**

"They're both too noble for their own bloody good." James said, shaking his head.**"That's not how it's supposed to work," Harry said. He felt angry; his leg was very painful, he was aching all over from trying to throw off the spider, and after all his efforts, Cedric had beaten him to it, just as he'd beaten Harry to ask Cho to the ball. "The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you. I'm telling you, I'm not going to win any races on this leg."****Cedric took a few paces nearer to the Stunned spider, away from the cup, shaking his head.****"No," he said.****"Stop being noble," said Harry irritably. **

At this, all those who knew Harry personally burst out laughing.

"Oh, gosh that's priceless!" George chortled.

"Harry? Telling someone to not be noble?" Lexi squeaked. Harry pouted.

**"Just take it, then we can get out of here."****Cedric watched Harry steadying himself, holding tight to the hedge.****"You told me about the dragons," Cedric said. "I would've gone down in the first task if you hadn't told me what was coming."****"I had help on that too," Harry snapped, trying to mop up his bloody leg with his robes. "You helped me with the egg - we're square."****"I had help on the egg in the first place," said Cedric.****"We're still square," said Harry, testing his leg gingerly; it shook violently as he put weight on it; he had sprained his ankle when the spider had dropped him.****"You should've got more points on the second task," said Cedric mulishly. "You stayed behind to get all the hostages. I should've done that."****"I was the only one who was thick enough to take that song seriously!" said Harry bitterly. "Just take the cup!"**

"Oh, gosh those two are stubborn." Dorea rolled her eyes. "Boys."**"No," said Cedric.****He stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join Harry, who stared at him. Cedric was serious. He was walking away from the sort of glory Hufflepuff House hadn't had in centuries.**

"Hey! Hufflepuff House doesn't need a trophy to prove that they are worthy! Just look at the people who have come out of there!" Lexi exclaimed. "Ted Tonks, one of the most amazing people I've known, Cedric, as brave as any Gryffindor! Dora, my sister in all but blood! And many more, the Bones', Professor Sprout! Greatness isn't measured by how many trophies someone has gathered; it's by how great the people are, their actions. They speak louder than any shiny medal!"**"Go on," Cedric said. He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolution he had, but his face was set, his arms were folded, he seemed decided.****Harry looked from Cedric to the cup. For one shining moment, he saw himself emerging from the maze, holding it. He saw himself holding the Triwizard Cup aloft, heard the roar of the crowd, saw Cho's face shining with admiration, more clearly than he had ever seen it before...and then the picture faded, and he found himself staring at Cedric's shadowy, stubborn face.****"Both of us," Harry said.****"What?"****"We'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it."**

"And it kills him." Percy looked towards the ground.**Cedric stared at Harry. He unfolded his arms.****"You - you sure?"****"Yeah," said Harry. "Yeah...we've helped each other out, haven't we? We both got here. Let's just take it together."****For a moment, Cedric looked as though he couldn't believe his ears; then his face split in a grin.****"You're on," he said. "Come here."****He grabbed Harry's arm below the shoulder and helped Harry limp toward the plinth where the cup stood. When they had reached it, they both held a hand out over one of the cup's gleaming handles.****"On three, right?" said Harry. "One - two - three -"****He and Cedric both grasped a handle.****Instantly, Harry felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. His feet had left the ground. He could not unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling him onward in a howl of wind and swirling color, Cedric at his side.**

"What? That wasn't s'posed to happen!" Remus exclaimed.

"I think we should break now – we won't want to rest during the next few extracts." Lexi said, knowing what was coming. "Siri, can I talk to you?"

The Black heir patted Remus on the shoulder, before standing up and walking to Lexi. She gestured to a spare room, where both of them went.

"I'll make some tea." Molly said, before standing up and bustling over to the kitchen. The others conversed between themselves.

XoOoX

AT LAST! Sorry this took so long guys, but it's over 50 pages long and I had to type it out twice due to computer issues – BE GRATEFUL!

The song Fred sings is 'old school' by Hedley - listen to it, it's amazing.

Anyway, I'm changing some things, only minor details, but they're important for my plot. Andy is the oldest of the Black sisters, Bella the second and Cissa the youngest.

Before people complain about Bella not liking the cruciatus curse, I have a backstory to why she used it on the Longbottoms and everyone else. You've just got to be patient!

The next chapter may be a reading, may be separate, not sure as of yet, but I'll (hopefully) be able to work on my own laptop. I now have money, so have been able to order my charger.

Thank you for favouriting guys, you're all amazing! ~ Jazz


	9. Love Declarations and Reconciliations

"Ok, I'm here – what do you want to talk about?" Sirius wasn't actually curious about the reason, because he knew. He knew since he'd tried to soothe Moony's ears after the high screeches and the girl had smirked that knowing smirk. She'd placed the break as soon as physically possible to drag him away. To confront him. He was doomed.

"You love him. Remus, I mean." Sirius blinked. Lexi could be incredibly blunt, straight to the point and very, very intimidating. He was barely taller than her, despite their two years age gap, Lexi being the eldest of the two. Still, her eyes were piercing, intelligent, analysing him as though he were an opponent and she would have to take him down at any moment. Right then, it hit him at how bad she'd had it, fighting a war when she was only 18 and he was lucky it wasn't him. "Sirius?" He snapped out of his musings, and suddenly remembered the topic they were on.

"I…I…how…but…" His speech was incoherent, despite the fact his brain spoke clearly to him. Y_ou love him, _it mocked _but you can't have him. You must provide an heir, and he doesn't come into that equation. _Lexi was fixing him with her penetrating, blue stare.

"You love him, so tell him." She made it sound so simple, so easy. "I understand that it's hard –" And he snapped.

"You can't understand how bloody hard it is!" He yelled, feeling as though his heart was being ripped out of his chest. "You can't! You're normal! You have a nice, normal, cozy life. You don't have the lifeline of your family on your shoulders! It's my duty to uphold it!" Lexi's eyes had grown wide – she didn't know this, that was obvious, but Sirius didn't take that into account. He was getting all his feelings out. "And I can't love him, because it's impossible to fulfil my duty to my family if I do! I have to marry a nice, normal, pure-blood girl who will provide me a nice, normal, pure-blood heir who will go through the same process an-mmmph!"

He was cut off as Lexi, purely on impulse, grabbed the front of his shirt and mashed his lips to hers. There was contact for a millisecond before Lexi pushed him off, Sirius landing in the seat behind him.

"What the hell was that for?" He roared, enraged.

"I'm a nice, normal, pure-blood girl who could provide you a nice, normal, pure-blood heir." She spat, looking down at him. "That, sciocco, è stato quello di aiutarvi a rendere la vostra mente." Lexi turned on her heel and marched out of the room, red hair trailing behind her like a flag.

Sirius only understood some of the simpler words of Lexi's Italian declaration, and what he did made tears spring to his eyes as he buried his head in his hands. He couldn't make up his mind. It was impossible. He just wanted everything to black out; he wanted the confusion to end.

"Siri?" He started at Remus' voice, turning slightly to see the lithe lycanthrope peering in through the doorway. "Lexi said you were in here. Are you alright?" At that, Sirius just let his tears slide down his face.

"No." He said, his voice sounding choked. "No, I'm not ok."

Remus had crossed the room in a few strides, pulling the boy up to stand and wrapped him in a hug.

"Hush, don't cry." Remus murmured, rubbing the boys back soothingly. "What did she say that made you get like this?"

Sirius shook his head, burying his head into the crook of Remus' shoulder.

"Can't tell you. You'd hate me."

"I could never hate you."

It all came as a rush in that single moment to Sirius. Blacks weren't supposed to be Gryffindors, shouldn't be friends with Muggleborns, half-bloods, blood traitors and half-breeds, shouldn't class friends above their blood and shouldn't be gay. So what? Sirius was a Gryffindor, was friends with Muggleborns, half-bloods, blood traitors and half-breeds and his friends meant more than his blood ever did. What was breaking one more rule going to do to him? He was going to be blasted off the tapestry anyway, the way things were going.

"I think I love you, Moony." The lycanthrope froze in his movements, hand barely resting on the animagus' back.

"What?" He breathed. Sirius had realised he had been completely stupid to blurt out his feelings like that. But, well, he'd done it already. He couldn't mess things up any more, could he?

"I love you. I know it's stupid and ridiculous and…and…" Sirius trailed off when he was met with the golden eyes of one Remus Lupin.

"That's what I thought you said." The werewolf whispered and, before Sirius knew it, the lips of the lycanthrope were against his. Remus' lips were soft, hesitant and absolutely perfect as they moved softly against Sirius', as though he believed it was a prank and wasn't willing to lay bare his emotions only to have his heart broken. Sirius took the boys lower lip between his own, assuring Remus that this was not a prank, this was real. The werewolf answered with a soft moan, taking Sirius' upper lip between his own, reciprocating the kiss.

The two broke apart, pupils dilated, lips red and cheeks pink.

"Please, please tell me this isn't a dream." Sirius murmured, staring into ochre eyes.

"S'not a dream, Siri." Remus rested his forehead against his newfound lover's. "I love you, too. I love you so, so much."

"Can we not tell the others?" Sirius asked. "I'm not embarrassed but, it's just…opinions are gonna be changed during it. Maybe I won't be disowned straight away…hopefully." Remus merely smiled, planting a chaste kiss at the corner of the boy's mouth.

"Of course." He murmured, gently brushing a strand of hair away from Sirius' eyes. "Anything you want."

The two kissed once more, before leaving the room, their love declarations out of the way, ending much better than either believed was possible.

XoOoX

Bellatrix had never really wanted her sister to leave. After all, Andy was the one who told her all about Hogwarts and would defend her from people who would bully her at school. In return, Bella merely loved her sister as one should. That all changed when Ted came into the equation.

He was a Muggleborn Hufflepuff, in the same year as Andy. They shared classes and that was normal. Bella didn't think of him as a threat to the normal way things ran. She began to grow nervous when Andromeda grew closer to him and would hang around with him outside of classes, but she brushed it aside. Andy wasn't stupid enough to let a Muggleborn get her disowned from her family.

So when she announced that she was marrying Ted very loudly at dinner one night and walked out of the house, resulting in her getting blasted off the tapestry, Bella knew that her assumptions were wrong.

She began to hate Ted Tonks and all things Muggle from that day onwards.

But this reading had changed things, her perspective on Ted and realised that, despite the fact he wasn't perfect, Andy loved him. Loved him unconditionally, not for wealth or blood status or merely to spite her family. Bella wished that someone would love her like that, but knew her chances were slim. She was an heir to a massive fortune, so of course someone would want to marry her simply for money, nothing more.

So, when she walked over to her big sister with Cissy at her side, she knew the exact words she wanted to tell Andy.

Their sister was currently whispering to Ted, glancing cautiously towards Bella's niece, Dora, who was playing with Charlie, Bill, Harry and Tom. Tom wasn't playing, more looking on from the side-lines. Bella cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the Tonks' towards herself. Suddenly feeling slightly scared, Bella shuffled her feet anxiously as Andy's eyes turned somewhat harder, narrowing slightly.

"Bella. Cissy. What is it?" Bella raised her head, looking directly into her elder sister's eyes, before she spoke.

"I'm sorry, Andy. For, y'know, being angry that you married Ted." She said, uncharacteristically quietly. Andy arched an eyebrow, and Ted looked slightly shocked. "I just didn't want to see you go. Cissy didn't either – you're our big sister, Andy, and we needed you and then when you got married and blasted off the family tree, it was like you were leaving us forever. I didn't like Ted before, I admit it, but while we were reading…you really do love him and all. So, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, Andy." Cissy piped up.

Andy had placed a hand over her mouth, tearing up slightly, before embracing both her sisters in a hug, which surprised them both.

"I forgive you both."

"We love you, Andy." Bella murmured into her sister's shoulder, Narcissa murmuring her assent.

"I love you, too." Andromeda pulled back, wiping watery eyes on the back of her hand. "I don't think you've properly met my husband – Ted Tonks."

Bella smiled. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr Tonks." She held out a hand, which Ted took, grinning lopsidedly. "I hope you'll make my sister happy."

As Ted began to talk with Narcissa and Andy went to check on the children, Bella grinned.

Maybe they could be a real family now.

XoOoX

Soon everyone had gathered again. The Marauders sat on the same sofa as before, but Sirius and Remus were huddled close together, conversing in low voices. Their hands were clasped together inconspicuously behind their backs.

Bellatrix and Cissy were sitting on either side of the Tonks' sofa. Sirius cast a glance towards them, raising a confused eyebrow. Much to his shock, Bella responded with a kind smile and a wink. Maybe he was submitting to the Black legacy of insanity?

Other than that, everyone was sitting where they were. Rose went to pick up the sheets…and then Dora whined.

"Lexiiiii, you PROMISED you would sing!" She said, pouting slightly. The red-head sighed.

"Can we just read? Please?" The girl's blue eyes were pleading. Sirius felt the corner of his lip twitching and felt Remus' body shake with suppressed laughter.

"You did promise, Lexi." Percy said, chuckling slightly. Lexi shot him an annoyed glared.

"Traitor." She hissed, before drawing a deep breath. Everyone's eyes were on her and it seemed as though she had no other choice.

"_Regrets collect like old friends  
Here to relive your darkest moments  
I can see no way, I can see no way  
And all of the ghouls come out to play_"

She lowered her eyelids, concentrating on the lyrics.

"_And every demon wants his pound of flesh  
But I like to keep some things to myself  
I like to keep my issues drawn  
It's always darkest before the dawn_"

Lexi's eyes snapped open, glancing towards Narcissa, Bellatrix, Lucius, Regulus and other members, including Severus, of Sirius' family and supposed that related to what Sirius believed. That they probably sided with Voldemort at some point in the future.

"_And I've been a fool and I've been blind  
I can never leave the past behind  
I can see no way, I can see no way  
I'm always dragging that horse around_"

Percy's head lowered. Sirius' didn't know why, but he knew that those lyrics hit the man hard. The red-head had winced violently at the 'fool' and 'blind' parts. Lexi placed a calming hand on the man's shoulder, though, and he relaxed slightly.

"_And our love is pastured such a mournful sound  
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground  
So I like to keep my issues drawn  
But it's always darkest before the dawn_

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah  
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back  
So shake him off, oh woah"

At this, Lexi's eyes flashed over to Remus, who stared, a slight smile on his face. She smiled slightly back. Sirius impulsively tightened his hold on the lycanthrope's hand. The 'Devil'…the wolf. Shake off its presence. Be Remus. That's what she was singing and Sirius felt grateful for it for some weird reason.

"_I am done with my graceless heart  
So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart  
Cause I like to keep my issues drawn  
It's always darkest before the dawn_"

Lexi's eyes, almost unconsciously, drifted over to Percy, who took her hand in his own, squeezing it. She gave a shaky smile.

"_Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah  
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah_

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back  
So shake him off, oh woah

And given half the chance would I take any of it back  
It's a fine romance but it's left me so undone  
It's always darkest before the dawn"

Now everyone was drawn in, revelling in the song. 'And given half a chance would I take any of it back'. Would he, Sirius, regret anything he'd done? And would anyone else? Looking around him, he realised that, yes, some of the people were regretting what they'd done. But seeing Remus' smiling face and the grins on his friends and families faces, he realised that he wouldn't want to change anything about his life.

"_Oh woah, oh woah...___

And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't  
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my rope  
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope  
It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat  
Cause looking for heaven, found the devil in me  
Looking for heaven, found the devil in me  
Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me"

Those words were sung with so much feeling, Sirius realised they must mean so much to Lexi, who placed a hand over her heart. Did she have darkness inside her which she had just found recently? Was she going to let it be there, and not care about it? Or was it something else, something more?

"_Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah  
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah_

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back  
So shake him off, oh woah

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah  
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back  
So shake him off, oh woah"

The applause was scattered, but loud. Lexi let out a small smile, before gesturing towards the sheets of parchment.

"Well, who wants to read."

"I will." Bella said, before taking the sheets, flicking through them until she reached where they had stopped reading. "Ah, here we are."

XoOoX

Sorry this took so long, guys! I had writers block, and I'm not too happy with this chapter, but I hope it's ok for the meantime. I just wanted to give you an update, so you knew that I didn't die.

The song is 'Shake it Out' by Florence and the Machine. Yes, I know it isn't time relevant, but I just love the song. I'll attempt to keep any more (if any) more time appropriate.

sciocco, è stato quello di aiutarvi a rendere la vostra mente. – fool, was to help you make up your mind.

Please review! Shall be greatly appreciated! ~Jazz


	10. In The Aftermath

**Harry felt his feet slam into the ground; his injured leg gave way, and he fell forward; his hand let go of the Triwizard Cup at last. He raised his head.******

**"Where are we?" he said.******

**Cedric shook his head. He got up, pulled Harry to his feet, and they looked around.******

**They had left the Hogwarts grounds completely; they had obviously traveled miles - perhaps hundreds of miles - for even the mountains surrounding the castle were gone. They were standing instead in a dark and overgrown graveyard; the black outline of a small church was visible beyond a large yew tree to their right. A hill rose above them to their left. Harry could just make out the outline of a fine old house on the hillside.**

"Wonder where they are." Remus mused.

"Somewhere they're not supposed to be, of course." Eileen sighed, looking at the small boy in slight worry.

"It's Harry." George said, as though it explained everything. For most, it did.****

**Cedric looked down at the Triwizard Cup and then up at Harry.******

**"Did anyone tell you the cup was a Portkey?" he asked.******

**"Nope," said Harry. He was looking around the graveyard. It was completely silent and slightly eerie. "Is this supposed to be part of the task?"**

"Obviously not." John said, he himself worried for the two boys in the book.****

**"I dunno," said Cedric. He sounded slightly nervous. "Wands out, d'you reckon?"**

"As Moody would say, 'constant vigilance'." Lexi smiled slightly, resting her head on Percy's shoulder, waiting what was to come, one arm wrapped around Tom's shoulders.****

**"Yeah," said Harry, glad that Cedric had made the suggestion rather than him.******

**They pulled out their wands. Harry kept looking around him. He had, yet again, the strange feeling that they were being watched.******

**"Someone's coming," he said suddenly.**

"Good senses." Orion commented, only to get shushed by Pollux, much to Regulus' amusement.****

**Squinting tensely through the darkness, they watched the figure drawing nearer, walking steadily toward them between the graves. Harry couldn't make out a face, but from the way it was walking and holding its arms, he could tell that it was carrying something. Whoever it was, he was short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over his head to obscure his face. And - several paces nearer, the gap between them closing all the time - Harry saw that the thing in the persons arms looked like a baby...or was it merely a bundle of robes?**

"Oh my…is that…?" Rose didn't need to finish the sentence, only curling closer to her husband, who hugged her with one arm.****

**Harry lowered his wand slightly and glanced sideways at Cedric. Cedric shot him a quizzical look. They both turned back to watch the approaching figure.**

"Don't do that!" Fabian exclaimed. "Hex it, stun it, but don't just stand there!"****

**It stopped beside a towering marble headstone, only six feet from them. For a second. Harry and Cedric and the short figure simply looked at one another.******

**And then, without warning, Harry's scar exploded with pain. **

"Shit." Petunia hissed under her breath. Lily stared at her sister, before the two hugged each other, knowing that whatever was going to happen was going to be bad.

**It was agony such as he had never felt in all his life; his wand slipped from his fingers as he put his hands over his face; his knees buckled; he was on the ground and he could see nothing at all; his head was about to split open.******

**From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, "Kill the spare."**

"No!" Helga gasped, Pomona staring. It couldn't mean…not one of her students! But she knew it was.****

**A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words to the night: "Avada Kedavra!"******

**A blast of green light blazed through Harry's eyelids, and he heard something heavy fall to the ground beside him; the pain in his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and then it diminished; terrified of what he was about to see, he opened his stinging eyes.******

**Cedric was lying spread-eagled on the ground beside him. He was dead.**

Some felt tears spring to their eyes, even if they didn't know the boy that well. It was an unneeded death, and one life had been cut short. Minerva had to calm herself, remembering that they could change this – they could stop him from dying.****

**For a second that contained an eternity, Harry stared into Cedric's face, at his open gray eyes, blank and expressionless as the windows of a deserted house, at his half-open mouth, which looked slightly surprised. **

Lexi winced, remembering the other deaths she had seen. All of them had died differently – Sirius laughing, Dumbledore looking calm as ever, but Cedric…it was as though he was expressing the surprise at the fact that he was just dead. No one was supposed to die in the tournament. And she was a fool at the time to believe that no one would be killed in it.

**And then, before Harry's mind had accepted what he was seeing, before he could feel anything but numb disbelief, he felt himself being pulled to his feet.******

**The short man in the cloak had put down his bundle, lit his wand, and was dragging Harry toward the marble headstone. Harry saw the name upon it flickering in the wandlight before he was forced around and slammed against it.**

Bella's eyes widened at the next words, before she drew a deep shuddering breath and read the text.****

**TOM RIDDLE**

The entire room grew deathly quiet; the only sound heard was the shallow breaths of those gathered, before a child's sob broke through it.

Tom had curled himself into Lexi, who was hugging the boy who was clutching at her robe as though it was a life line. He'd realised it too soon, Lexi thought. He wasn't supposed to figure it out now, but he had, sobbing out broken apologies for crimes he had not yet committed.

Some wondered how such a small, guilt wrecked child could become something as evil as Voldemort and some realised that, just maybe, they had saved him just in time. Maybe now, he wouldn't become a murderer. Maybe he would realise that he was loved

Eventually, the sobs quietened and Tom averted his gaze from everyone else, cheek resting against Lexi's chest, eyes closed. The Slytherin ran a hand through his dark hair, nodding at Bellatrix to continue reading.**  
****The cloaked man was now conjuring tight cords around Harry, tying him from neck to ankles to the headstone. Harry could hear shallow, fast breathing from the depths of the hood; he struggled, and the man hit him - hit him with a hand that had a finger missing. And Harry realized who was under the hood. It was Wormtail.**

The three Marauders growled, and some in the room glared at the book. That bastard had hurt his best friends son!****

**"You!" he gasped.******

**But Wormtail, who had finished conjuring the ropes, did not reply; he was busy checking the tightness of the cords, his fingers trembling uncontrollably, fumbling over the knots. Once sure that Harry was bound so tightly to the headstone that he couldn't move an inch, Wormtail drew a length of some black material from the inside of his cloak and stuffed it roughly into Harry's mouth; then, without a word, he turned from Harry and hurried away. Harry couldn't make a sound, nor could he see where Wormtail had gone; he couldn't turn his head to see beyond the headstone; he could see only what was right in front of him.******

**Cedric's body was lying some twenty feet away. Some way beyond him, glinting in the starlight, lay the Triwizard Cup. Harry's wand was on the ground at Cedric's feet. The bundle of robes that Harry had thought was a baby was close by, at the foot of the grave. It seemed to be stirring fretfully. Harry watched it, and his scar seared with pain again...and he suddenly knew that he didn't want to see what was in those robes...he didn't want that bundle opened...**

"Please don't open it…oh please, oh please, oh please." Serena murmured under her breath, trembling slightly.****

**He could hear noises at his feet. He looked down and saw a gigantic snake slithering through the grass, circling the headstone where he was tied. Wormtail's fast, wheezy breathing was growing louder again. It sounded as though he was forcing something heavy across the ground. Then he came back within Harry's range of vision, and Harry saw him pushing a stone cauldron to the foot of the grave. It was full of what seemed to be water - Harry could hear it slopping around - and it was larger than any cauldron Harry had ever used; a great stone belly large enough for a full-grown man to sit in.**

Sirius cursed violently. The only subject that rat had been any good at was potions and it was just bloody brilliant that he had to make a potion to revive the bloody Dark Lord. Remus grabbed his hand, his thumb stroking the back of it in slow circles.****

**The thing inside the bundle of robes on the ground was stirring more persistently, as though it was trying to free itself. Now Wormtail was busying himself at the bottom of the cauldron with a wand. Suddenly there were crackling names beneath it. The large snake slithered away into the darkness.**

"That's Nagini." Percy said, frowning. "But…never mind." He shook his head, muttering under his breath.****

**The liquid in the cauldron seemed to heat very fast. The surface began not only to bubble, but to send out fiery sparks, as though it were on fire. Steam was thickening, blurring the outline of Wormtail tending the fire. The movements beneath the robes became more agitated. And Harry heard the high, cold voice again.******

**"Hurry!"**

"Oh, don't bother." Gideon said, slightly panicky. "Feel free to take your time!"

The children gathered on the floor had darted over to their parents, Dora taking residence on Andy's lap, Bill and Charlie in between their parents. Harry was sitting in between Sirius and James. Tom was still sitting on Lexi's lap, eyes staring into nothing.****

**The whole surface of the water was alight with sparks now. It might have been encrusted with diamonds.******

**"It is ready. Master."******

**"Now..." said the cold voice.******

**Wormtail pulled open the robes on the ground, revealing what was inside them, and Harry let out a yell that was strangled in the wad of material blocking his mouth.******

**It was as though Wormtail had flipped over a stone and revealed something ugly, slimy, and blind - but worse, a hundred times worse. The thing Wormtail had been carrying had the shape of a crouched human child, except that Harry had never seen anything less like a child. It was hairless and scaly-looking, a dark, raw, reddish black. Its arms and legs were thin and feeble, and its face - no child alive ever had a face like that - flat and snakelike, with gleaming red eyes.**

"That's what he's been reduced to?" Narcissa exclaimed, staring. "Is it even possible?"

"Obviously." Lucius commented dryly, shivering. Tom whimpered from his place, Lexi resuming with carding fingers through black locks.****

**The thing seemed almost helpless; it raised its thin arms, put them around Wormtail's neck, and Wormtail lifted it. As he did so, his hood fell back, and Harry saw the look of revulsion on Wormtail's weak, pale face in the firelight as he carried the creature to the rim of the cauldron. For one moment, Harry saw the evil, flat face illuminated in the sparks dancing on the surface of the potion. And then Wormtail lowered the creature into the cauldron; there was a hiss, and it vanished below the surface; Harry heard its frail body hit the bottom with a soft thud.**

Many shuddered.****

**Let it drown, Harry thought, his scar burning almost past endurance, please...let it drown...******

**Wormtail was speaking. His voice shook; he seemed frightened beyond his wits. He raised his wand, closed his eyes, and spoke to the night.******

**"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"**

Abraxas, Pollux, Walburga and Orion's eyes widened. They knew that spell. It was ancient, full of old magic which was darker and more forbidden than that of the unforgivables. The founders' eyes widened as well. That spell had never been used in their time, and they had hoped it never would be again.****

**The surface of the grave at Harry's feet cracked. Horrified, Harry watched as a fine trickle of dust rose into the air at Wormtail's command and fell softly into the cauldron. The diamond surface of the water broke and hissed; it sent sparks in all directions and turned a vivid, poisonous-looking blue.**

Salazar cursed in Parseltongue, and Tom's head whipped to him.

~What was that?~ The boy asked, stares going his way from the founders as he hissed in Parseltongue and Salazar's eyes widened, before he replied.

~Nothing, child.~

~Oh. Ok.~****

**And now Wormtail was whimpering. He pulled a long, thin, shining silver dagger from inside his cloak. His voice broke into petrified sobs.******

**"Flesh - of the servant - w-willingly given - you will - revive - your master."******

**He stretched his right hand out in front of him - the hand with the missing finger. He gripped the dagger very tightly in his left hand and swung it upward.**

"Oh, gross!" Petunia squealed, many of the other women looking disgusted, Dorea turning slightly green. Lexi looked as though she were about to throw up.****

**Harry realized what Wormtail was about to do a second before it happened - he closed his eyes as tightly as he could, but he could not block the scream that pierced the night, that went through Harry as though he had been stabbed with the dagger too. He heard something fall to the ground, heard Wormtail's anguished panting, then a sickening splash, as something was dropped into the cauldron. Harry couldn't stand to look...but the potion had turned a burning red; the light of it shone through Harry's closed eyelids...**

Orion growled, hands clenching into fists, leaving crescent marks in flesh where his nails had dug in so deeply.****

**Wormtail was gasping and moaning with agony. Not until Harry felt Wormtail's anguished breath on his face did he realize that Wormtail was right in front of him.******

**"B-blood of the enemy...forcibly taken...you will...resurrect your foe."**

"Don't even think of it, you traitor!" James growled, his eyes narrowed.****

**Harry could do nothing to prevent it, he was tied too tightly...Squinting down, struggling hopelessly at the ropes binding him, he saw the shining silver dagger shaking in Wormtail's remaining hand. He felt its point penetrate the crook of his right arm and blood seeping down the sleeve of his torn robes. **

"Shit." Severus cursed. Repeatedly.

Lexi closed her eyes tightly. She'd never been good with blood – it was different when she was distracted, like in battle, but when it slowed down…well, that was a different story all together.

**Wormtail, still panting with pain, rumbled in his pocket for a glass vial and held it to Harry's cut, so that a dribble of blood fell into it.******

**He staggered back to the cauldron with Harry's blood. He poured it inside. The liquid within turned, instantly, a blinding white. Wormtail, his job done, dropped to his knees beside the cauldron, then slumped sideways and lay on the ground, cradling the bleeding stump of his arm, gasping and sobbing.**

"Serves him right." Sirius grumbled, Remus's hand still in his.****

**The cauldron was simmering, sending its diamond sparks in all directions, so blindingly bright that it turned all else to velvety blackness. Nothing happened...******

**Let it have drowned. Harry thought, let it have gone wrong...**

"Please." Michael murmured, but looking at the elder pureblood's faces, he knew it had gone right.****

**And then, suddenly, the sparks emanating from the cauldron were extinguished. A surge of white steam billowed thickly from the cauldron instead, obliterating everything in front of Harry, so that he couldn't see Wormtail or Cedric or anything but vapor hanging in the air...It's gone wrong, he thought...it's drowned ...please...please let it be dead...**

"Oh please, oh please, oh please…" Pomona chanted under her breath.****

**But then, through the mist in front of him, he saw, with an icy surge of terror, the dark outline of a man, tall and skeletally thin, rising slowly from inside the cauldron.**

"No no no no no…" Rowena chanted, her eyes wide.

******"Robe me," said the high, cold voice from behind the steam, and Wormtail, sobbing and moaning, still cradling his mutilated arm, scrambled to pick up the black robes from the ground, got to his feet, reached up, and pulled them one-handed over his master's head.******

**The thin man stepped out of the cauldron, staring at Harry...and Harry stared back into the face that had haunted his nightmares for three years. Whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snakes with slits for nostrils...**

Tom whimpered, a trembling bundle on Lexi's lap. The woman herself was frozen still. She had never heard about how Voldemort had been resurrected – in retrospect, she barely knew anything about what Harry had been through and she felt angry at herself for believing that she did. Percy wrapped an arm around her shoulders, placing a kiss to red hair, at which Lexi froze, before merely leaning into the embrace and returning to carding fingers through ebony tresses.****

**Lord Voldemort had risen again.**

**XoOoX**

**Voldemort looked away from Harry and began examining his own body. His hands were like large, pale spiders; his long white fingers caressed his own chest, his arms, his face; the red eyes, whose pupils were slits, like a cats, gleamed still more brightly through the darkness. **

"I don't want to be like that." Tom whimpered, hiding his face in Percy's robes. "Please don't let me be like that."

"We won't." Percy murmured. "We promise." He felt a pang in his chest when he realised that he may not be able to keep that promise.

**He held up his hands and flexed the fingers, his expression rapt and exultant. He took not the slightest notice of Wormtail, who lay twitching and bleeding on the ground, nor of the great snake, which had slithered back into sight and was circling Harry again, hissing. Voldemort slipped one of those unnaturally long-fingered hands into a deep pocket and drew out a wand. He caressed it gently too; and then he raised it, and pointed it at Wormtail, who was lifted off the ground and thrown against the headstone where Harry was tied; he fell to the foot of it and lay there, crumpled up and crying. Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh.**

Regulus shivered, Tom whimpered and the other children buried faces into parent's robes, trying to hide from the words.****

**Wormtail's robes were shining with blood now; he had wrapped the stump of his arm in them.******

**"My Lord..." he choked, "my Lord...you promised...you did promise..."******

**"Hold out your arm," said Voldemort lazily.******

**"Oh Master...thank you, Master..."******

**He extended the bleeding stump, but Voldemort laughed again.******

**"The other arm, Wormtail."******

**"Master, please...please..."**

"He has no mercy." Lucius muttered, shuddering.****

**Voldemort bent down and pulled out Wormtail's left arm; he forced the sleeve of Wormtail's robes up past his elbow, and Harry saw something upon the skin there, something like a vivid red tattoo - a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth - the image that had appeared in the sky at the Quidditch World Cup: the Dark Mark. **

"He's going to summon his Death Eaters, isn't he?" Fred said, not wanting an answer. He didn't get one.

**Voldemort examined it carefully, ignoring Wormtail's uncontrollable weeping.******

**"It is back," he said softly, "they will all have noticed it...and now, we shall see...now we shall know..."******

**He pressed his long white forefinger to the brand on Wormtail's arm.******

**The scar on Harry's forehead seared with a sharp pain again, and Wormtail let out a fresh howl; Voldemort removed his fingers from Wormtail's mark, and Harry saw that it had turned jet black.******

**A look of cruel satisfaction on his face, Voldemort straightened up, threw back his head, and stared around at the dark graveyard.******

**"How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?" he whispered, his gleaming red eyes fixed upon the stars. "And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?"**

"More like the other way around." Abraxas muttered.****

**He began to pace up and down before Harry and Wormtail, eyes sweeping the graveyard all the while. After a minute or so, he looked down at Harry again, a cruel smile twisting his snakelike face.**

Tom cringed. Arthur shuddered and Molly gasped.****

**"You stand, Harry Potter, upon the remains of my late father," he hissed softly. "A Muggle and a fool...very like your dear mother. But they both had their uses, did they not? Your mother died to defend you as a child...and I killed my father, and see how useful he has proved himself, in death..."**

Tom felt tears spring to his eyes again. He killed his own dad…even though he left him, he was still his father, wasn't he? He gripped Percy's robes again, leaning back into Lexi. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to block it out, trying to hide from it all.****

**Voldemort laughed again. Up and down he paced, looking all around him as he walked, and the snake continued to circle in the grass.******

**"You see that house upon the hillside, Potter? My father lived there. My mother, a witch who lived here in this village, fell in love with him. But he abandoned her when she told him what she was...He didn't like magic, my father...**

"Like Uncle doesn't." Harry said to himself, burying himself into James' loose embrace on the small boy.****

**"He left her and returned to his Muggle parents before I was even born. Potter, and she died giving birth to me, leaving me to be raised in a Muggle orphanage...but I vowed to find him...I revenged myself upon him, that fool who gave me his name...Tom Riddle..."**

Tom let out another broken whimper, Lexi murmuring comforting nonsense into his hair.****

**Still he paced, his red eyes darting from grave to grave.******

**"Listen to me, reliving family history..." he said quietly, "why, I am growing quite sentimental...But look, Harry! My true family returns..."******

**The air was suddenly full of the swishing of cloaks. Between graves, behind the yew tree, in every shadowy space, wizards were Apparating. All of them were hooded and masked. And one by one they moved forward...slowly, cautiously, as though they could hardly believe their eyes Voldemort stood in silence, waiting for them. Then one of the Death Eaters fell to his knees, crawled toward Voldemort and kissed the hem of his black robes.**

George pulled a face. Andromeda drew Dora further into herself, Ted wrapping an arm around his trembling wife. How many members of their family would be there?****

**"Master...Master..." he murmured.******

**The Death Eaters behind him did the same; each of them approaching Voldemort on his knees and kissing his robes, before backing away and standing up, forming a silent circle, which enclosed Tom Riddle's grave, Harry, Voldemort, and the sobbing and twitching heap that was Wormtail. Yet they left gaps in the circle, as though waiting for more people. Voldemort, however, did not seem to expect more. He looked around at the hooded faces, and though there was no wind rustling seemed to run around the circle, as though it had shivered.******

**"Welcome, Death Eaters," said Voldemort quietly. "Thirteen years...thirteen years since last we met. Yet you answer my call as though it were yesterday, we are still united under the Dark Mark, then! Or are we?"**

"They're only united by fear." Flitwick said to himself. Others nodded in slight agreement.****

**He put back his terrible face and sniffed, his slit-like nostrils widening.******

**"I smell guilt," he said. "There is a stench or guilt upon the air.**** "**

"That's…that's…" Petunia looked as though she was going to be sick.****

**A second shiver ran around the circle, as though each member of it longed, but did not dare to step back from him.******

**"I see you all, whole and healthy, with your powers intact - such prompt appearances! And I ask myself...why did this band of wizards never come to the aid of their master, to whom they swore eternal loyalty?"******

**No one spoke. No one moved except Wormtail, who was upon the ground, still sobbing over his bleeding arm.******

**"And I answer myself," whispered Voldemort, "they must have believed me broken, they thought I was gone. They slipped back among my enemies, and they pleaded innocence, and ignorance, and bewitchment ...******

**"And then I ask myself, but how could they have believed I would not rise again? They, who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against mortal death? They, who had seen proofs of the immensity of my power in the times when I was mightier than any wizard living?******

**"And I answer myself, perhaps they believed a still greater power could exist, one that could vanquish even Lord Voldemort...perhaps they now pay allegiance to another...perhaps that champion of commoners, of Mudbloods and Muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"**

"Champion of all wizards who have a compassionate cell in their body, more like." Percy said, causing a snort of amusement from Lexi and lightening the mood a smidgen, but only for a short while.****

**At the mention of Dumbledore's name, the members of the circle stirred, and some muttered and shook their heads. Voldemort ignored them.******

**"It is a disappointment to me...I confess myself disappointed..."******

**One of the men suddenly flung himself forward, breaking the circle. Trembling from head to foot, he collapsed at Voldemort's feet.******

**"Master!" he shrieked, "Master, forgive me! Forgive us all!"******

**Voldemort began to laugh. He raised his wand.******

**"Crucio!"**

Everyone winced, Andromeda curling closer to Ted and Bella froze, staring straight ahead, trembling slightly.

"Bella?" The witch shook herself out of her trance, seeing everyone staring at her, before reading again.****

**The Death Eater on the ground writhed and shrieked; Harry was sure the sound must carry to the houses around...Let the police come, he thought desperately...anyone...anything...**

"They wouldn't be able to do anything." Dumbledore said, his eyes lacking their usual twinkle as he looked between Tom and Harry.**  
****Voldemort raised his wand. The tortured Death Eater lay flat upon the ground, gasping.******

**"Get up, Avery," **

"He's in our year." Severus commented, brows furrowing in thought.

**said Voldemort softly. "Stand up. You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive. I do not forget. Thirteen long years...I want thirteen years' repayment before I forgive you. Wormtail here has paid some of his debt already, have you not, Wormtail?"******

**He looked down at Wormtail, who continued to sob.******

**"You returned to me, not out of loyalty, but out of fear of your old friends. You deserve this pain, Wormtail. You know that, don't you?"******

**"Yes, Master," moaned Wormtail, "please. Master...please..."******

**"Yet you helped return me to my body," said Voldemort coolly, watching Wormtail sob on the ground. "Worthless and traitorous as you are, you helped me...and Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers..."******

**Voldemort raised his wand again and whirled it through the air. A streak of what looked like molten silver hung shining in the wand's wake. Momentarily shapeless, it writhed and then formed itself into a gleaming replica of a human hand, bright as moonlight, which soared downward and fixed itself upon Wormtail's bleeding wrist.******

**Wormtail's sobbing stopped abruptly. His breathing harsh and ragged, he raised his head and stared in disbelief at the silver hand, now attached seamlessly to his arm, as though he were wearing a dazzling glove. He flexed the shining fingers, then, trembling, picked up a small twig on the ground and crushed it into powder.******

**"My Lord," he whispered. "Master...it is beautiful...thank you...thank you..."******

**He scrambled forward on his knees and kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes.******

**"May your loyalty never waver again, Wormtail," said Voldemort.**

"That hand's cursed, isn't it?" Severus asked. "He owes Harry something, y'know, from saving him from Sirius and Remus, so if he ever does help him…"

"Most likely." Godric stated, inclining his head.****

**"No, my Lord...never, my Lord..."******

**Wormtail stood up and took his place in the circle, staring at his powerful new hand, his face still shining with tears. Voldemort now approached the man on Wormtail's right.******

**"Lucius, **

Lucius promptly froze as all eyes turned to him, some accusing, some pitying.

"No, no no no…" He muttered. "I can't…I won't."

"We won't let you." Andy said, looking him in the eye. "We promise, we won't let you join him, unless this is part of Lexi's plan."

"That's why you wanted to look at our arms." Narcissa realised suddenly. "Because we join him."

"I wasn't sure if you got the mark." Lexi clarified. "But I knew about Lucius and Bella…" The two nodded and Bellatrix, taking a deep breath, continued reading.

**my slippery friend," he whispered, halting before him. "I am told that you have not renounced the old ways, though to the world you present a respectable face. You are still ready to take the lead in a spot of Muggle-torture, I believe? Yet you never tried to find me, Lucius...Your exploits at the Quidditch World Cup were fun, I daresay...but might not your energies have been better directed toward finding and aiding your master?"**

"What did I do?"

"You helped with the humiliation of a family of Muggles who lived by the fields where people camped." Percy said. Lucius winced violently.****

**"My Lord, I was constantly on the alert," came Lucius Malfoy's voice swiftly from beneath the hood. "Had there been any sign from you, any whisper of your whereabouts, I would have been at your side immediately, nothing could have prevented me -"******

**"And yet you ran from my Mark, when a faithful Death Eater sent it into the sky last summer?" said Voldemort lazily, and Mr. Malfoy stopped talking abruptly. "Yes, I know all about that, Lucius...You have disappointed me...I expect more faithful service in the future."**

Percy and Lexi winced, or bit their lips. They knew that he'd failed the Dark Lord at least once.****

**"Of course, my Lord, of course...You are merciful, thank you..."******

**Voldemort moved on, and stopped, staring at the space - large enough for two people - that separated Malfoy and the next man.******

**"The Lestranges should stand here," said Voldemort quietly. "But they are entombed in Azkaban. **

"Not Roddy and Rab!" Bella said, staring. "No no no no…" Lexi, Percy, Fred and George had to avoid looking directly at the witch.

**They were faithful. They went to Azkaban rather than renounce me...When Azkaban is broken open, the Lestranges will be honored beyond their dreams. The dementors will join us...they are our natural allies...we will recall the banished giants...I shall have all my devoted servants returned to me, and an army of creatures whom all fear..."******

**He walked on. Some of the Death Eaters he passed in silence, but he paused before others and spoke to them.******

**"Macnair...**

Lexi, Percy, Fred and George growled at his mention.

**destroying dangerous beasts for the Ministry of Magic now, Wormtail tells me? You shall have better victims than that soon, Macnair. Lord Voldemort will provide..."******

**"Thank you, Master...thank you," murmured Macnair.******

**"And here" - Voldemort moved on to the two largest hooded figures - "we have Crabbe...you will do better this time, will you not, Crabbe? And you, Goyle?"**

"Just like their sons." The twins said in unison, scowling.****

**They bowed clumsily, muttering dully.******

**"Yes, Master..."******

**"We will, Master..."******

**"The same goes for you, Nott," said Voldemort quietly as he walked past a stooped figure in Mr. Goyles shadow.******

**"My Lord, I prostrate myself before you, I am your most faithful -"**

"Disgusting." Charlus said, narrowing his eyes.****

**"That will do," said Voldemort.******

**He had reached the largest gap of all, and he stood surveying it with his blank, red eyes, as though he could see people standing there.******

**"And here we have six missing Death Eaters...three dead in my service. One, too cowardly to return...he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of course...and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service."**

"Who?" Bella asked, almost scared of the answer. Apparently, she was a Death Eater, but yet she wasn't mentioned…

"Two of them are in this room." Lexi said carefully. "One of them isn't in England at the moment, one shall be revealed soon and, as for the other two, I'm not sure who they are."

Bella nodded, shakily, before continuing.****

**The Death Eaters stirred, and Harry saw their eyes dart sideways at one another through their masks.******

**"He is at Hogwarts, that faithful servant, and it was through his efforts that our young friend arrived here tonight...******

**"Yes," said Voldemort, a grin curling his lipless mouth as the eyes of the circle flashed in Harry's direction. "Harry Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party. One might go so far as to call him my guest of honor."******

**There was a silence. Then the Death Eater to the right of Wormtail stepped forward, and Lucius Malfoy's voice spoke from under the mask.******

**"Master, we crave to know...we beg you to tell us...how you have achieved this...this miracle...how you managed to return to us..."******

**"Ah, what a story it is, Lucius," said Voldemort. "And it begins - and ends - with my young friend here."**

"Ugh…" Percy said. "He's going to have a speech about how great he is, isn't he?"

"Probably." Gideon said, eying his nephew with slight amusement.****

**He walked lazily over to stand next to Harry, so that the eyes of the whole circle were upon the two of them. The snake continued to circle.******

**"You know, of course, that they have called this boy my downfall?" Voldemort said softly, his red eyes upon Harry, whose scar began to burn so fiercely that he almost screamed in agony. "You all know that on the night I lost my powers and my body, I tried to kill him. His mother died in the attempt to save him - and unwittingly provided him with a protection I admit I had not foreseen...I could not touch the boy."**

"Good." Lily said, nodding. Even if it meant her death, she was glad her son remained safe.****

**Voldemort raised one of his long white fingers and put it very close to Harry's cheek.******

**"His mother left upon him the traces other sacrifice...This is old magic, I should have remembered it, I was foolish to overlook it...but no matter. I can touch him now."******

**Harry felt the cold tip of the long white finger touch him, and thought his head would burst with the pain. **

Remus' eyes narrowed, a growl rumbling in his throat.

**Voldemort laughed softly in his ear, then took the finger away and continued addressing the Death Eaters.******

**"I miscalculated, my friends, I admit it. My curse was deflected by the woman's foolish **

"It wasn't foolish." Lily muttered.

**sacrifice, and it rebounded upon myself. Aaah...pain beyond pain, my friends; nothing could have prepared me for it. I was ripped from my body, I was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost...but still, I was alive. What I was, even I do not know...I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality. **

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed and he frowned slightly. A path that leads to immortality…

**You know my goal - to conquer death. And now, I was tested, and it appeared that one or more of my experiments had worked...for I had not been killed, though the curse should have done it. Nevertheless, I was as powerless as the weakest creature alive, and without the means to help myself...for I had no body, and every spell that might have helped me required the use of a wand...******

**"I remember only forcing myself, sleeplessly, endlessly, second by second, to exist...I settled in a faraway place, in a forest, and I waited...Surely, one of my faithful Death Eaters would try and find me...one of them would come and perform the magic I could not, to restore me to a body..., but I waited in vain..."******

**The shiver ran once more around the circle of listening Death Eaters. Voldemort let the silence spiral horribly before continuing.******

**"Only one power remained to me. I could possess the bodies of others. But I dared not go where other humans were plentiful, for I knew that the Aurors were still abroad and searching for me.******

**I sometimes inhabited animals - snakes, of course, being my preference - but I was little better off inside them than as pure spirit, for their bodies were ill adapted to perform magic...and my possession of them shortened their lives; none of them lasted long...******

**"Then...four years ago...the means for my return seemed assured. A wizard - young, foolish, and gullible - wandered across my path in the forest I had made my home. Oh, he seemed the very chance I had been dreaming of...for he was a teacher at Dumbledore's school...he was easy to bend to my will...he brought me back to this country, and after a while, I took possession of his body, to supervise him closely as he carried out my orders. But my plan failed. I did not manage to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. **

"He was possessing Quirrel?" Percy asked. Lexi shrugged – she wasn't sure.

"We shared our school with a serial killer?" Fred and George said, growing pale at the mere thought of it.

**I was not to be assured immortal life. I was thwarted...thwarted, once again, by Harry Potter..."******

**Silence once more; nothing was stirring, not even the leaves on the yew tree. The Death Eaters were quite motionless, the glittering eyes in their masks fixed upon Voldemort, and upon Harry.******

**"The servant died when I left his body, and I was left as weak as ever I had been," Voldemort continued. "I returned to my hiding place far away, and I will not pretend to you that I didn't then fear that I might never regain my powers...Yes, that was perhaps my darkest hour...I could not hope that I would be sent another wizard to possess...and I had given up hope, now, that any of my Death Eaters cared what had become of me..."******

**One or two of the masked wizards in the circle moved uncomfortably, but Voldemort took no notice.******

**"And then, not even a year ago, when I had almost abandoned hope, it happened at last...a servant returned to me. Wormtail here, who had faked his own death to escape justice, was driven out of hiding by those he had once counted friends, **

James, Remus and Sirius winced slightly. Why had he betrayed them? Was he already betraying them?

**and decided to return to his master. He sought me in the country where it had long been rumored I was hiding...helped, of course, by the rats he met along the way. Wormtail has a curious affinity with rats, do you not, Wormtail? **

"Because he's a rat himself." Ted said, glaring at the parchment Bella was holding.

**His filthy little friends told him there was a place, deep in an Albanian forest, that they avoided, where small animals like themselves had met their deaths by a dark shadow that possessed them...******

**"But his journey back to me was not smooth, was it, Wormtail? For, hungry one night, on the edge of the very forest where he had hoped to find me, he foolishly stopped at an inn for some food...and who should he meet there, but one Bertha Jorkins, a witch from the Ministry of Magic.**

Lexi raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh no…she was killed?"

"Obviously." Percy said, bowing his head.****

**"Now see the way that fate favors Lord Voldemort. This might have been the end of Wormtail, and of my last hope for regeneration. But Wormtail - displaying a presence of mind I would never have expected from him - convinced Bertha Jorkins to accompany him on a nighttime stroll. He overpowered her...he brought her to me. And Bertha Jorkins, who might have ruined all, proved instead to be a gift beyond my wildest dreams...for - with a little persuasion - she became a veritable mine of information.******

**"She told me that the Triwizard Tournament would be played at Hogwarts this year. She told me that she knew of a faithful Death Eater who would be only too willing to help me, if I could only contact him. She told me many things...but the means I used to break the Memory Charm upon her were powerful, and when I had extracted all useful information from her, her mind and body were both damaged beyond repair. She had now served her purpose. I could not possess her. I disposed of her."**

"That's disgusting!" Petunia said, wrinkling her nose.

"That's Voldemort." Fred said.****

**Voldemort smiled his terrible smile, his red eyes blank and pitiless.******

**"Wormtail's body, of course, was ill adapted for possession, as all assumed him dead, and would attract far too much attention if noticed. However, he was the able-bodied servant I needed, and, poor wizard though he is, Wormtail was able to follow the instructions I gave him, which would return me to a rudimentary, weak body of my own, a body I would be able to inhabit while awaiting the essential ingredients for true rebirth...a spell or two of my own invention...a little help from my dear Nagini," Voldemort's red eyes fell upon the continually circling snake, "a potion concocted from unicorn blood, and the snake venom Nagini provided...I was soon returned to an almost human form, and strong enough to travel.******

**"There was no hope of stealing the Sorcerer's Stone anymore, for I knew that Dumbledore would have seen to it that it was destroyed. But I was willing to embrace mortal life again, before chasing immortality. I set my sights lower...I would settle for my old body back again, and my old strength.******

**"I knew that to achieve this - it is an old piece of Dark Magic, the potion that revived me tonight - I would need three powerful ingredients. Well, one of them was already at hand, was it not, Wormtail? Flesh given by a servant...******

**"My father's bone, naturally, meant that we would have to come here, where he was buried. But the blood of a foe...Wormtail would have had me use any wizard, would you not, Wormtail? Any wizard who had hated me...as so many of them still do. But I knew the one I must use, if I was to rise again, more powerful than I had been when I had fallen. I wanted Harry Potters blood. I wanted the blood of the one who had stripped me of power thirteen years ago...for the lingering protection his mother once gave him would then reside in my veins too...**

"No…" Lily paled.****

**"But how to get at Harry Potter? For he has been better protected than I think even he knows, protected in ways devised by Dumbledore long ago, when it fell to him to arrange the boy's future. Dumbledore invoked an ancient magic, to ensure the boy's protection as long as he is in his relations' care. Not even I can touch him there...Then, of course, there was the Quidditch World Cup...I thought his protection might be weaker there, away from his relations and Dumbledore, but I was not yet strong enough to attempt kidnap in the midst of a horde of Ministry wizards. And then, the boy would return to Hogwarts, where he is under the crooked nose of that Muggle-loving fool from morning until night. So how could I take him?******

**"Why...by using Bertha Jorkins's information, of course. Use my one faithful Death Eater, stationed at Hogwarts, to ensure that the boy's name was entered into the Goblet of Fire. Use my Death Eater to ensure that the boy won the tournament - that he touched the Triwizard Cup first - the cup which my Death Eater had turned into a Portkey, which would bring him here, beyond the reach of Dumbledore's help and protection, and into my waiting arms. And here he is...the boy you all believed had been my downfall..."******

**Voldemort moved slowly forward and turned to face Harry. He raised his wand.******

**"Crucio!"**

"THAT BASTARD!" Charlus roared. "NO ONE HURTS MY FAMILY AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

"And he won't, 'cause we'll stop him the first time around now." Percy said, eyes determined. Tom looked up at him, eyes scared.

"What do you mean?" He was fearful. Did he mean he would hurt him?

"We'll get rid of Voldemort properly." Percy said, but seeing the fear in the little boy's eyes, ran a hand through his dark hair. "The proper Voldemort, not you." Tom let out a sigh of relief, cuddling back into Lexi's embrace.****

**It was pain beyond anything Harry had ever experienced; his very bones were on fire; his head was surely splitting along his scar; his eyes were rolling madly in his head; he wanted it to end...to black out...to die...**

Andromeda and Bella whimpered, Andromeda leaning into Ted, Narcissa hugging Bella. It was a few seconds before Bella managed to compose herself and read again.****

**And then it was gone. He was hanging limply in the ropes binding him to the headstone of Voldemort's father, looking up into those bright red eyes through a kind of mist. The night was ringing with the sound of the Death Eaters' laughter.**

Lucius winced violently. How could he?****

**"You see, I think, how foolish it was to suppose that this boy could ever have been stronger than me," said Voldemort. "But I want there to be no mistake in anybody's mind. Harry Potter escaped me by a lucky chance. And I am now going to prove my power by killing him, here and now, in front of you all, when there is no Dumbledore to help him, and no mother to die for him. I will give him his chance. He will be allowed to fight, and you will be left in no doubt which of us is the stronger. Just a little longer, Nagini," he whispered, and the snake glided away through the grass to where the Death Eaters stood watching.******

**"Now untie him, Wormtail, and give him back his wand."**

**XoOoX**

**Wormtail approached Harry, who scrambled to find his feet, to support his own weight before the ropes were untied. Wormtail raised his new silver hand, pulled out the wad of material gagging Harry, and then, with one swipe, cut through the bonds tying Harry to the gravestone.**

There was a split second, perhaps, when Harry might have considered running for it, but his injured leg shook under him as he stood on the overgrown grave, as the Death Eaters closed ranks, forming a tighter circle around him and Voldemort, so that the gaps where the missing Death Eaters should have stood were filled. Wormtail walked out of the circle to the place where Cedric's body lay and returned with Harry's wand, which he thrust roughly into Harry's hand without looking at him. Then Wormtail resumed his place in the circle of watching Death Eaters.

"You have been taught how to duel. Harry Potter?" said Voldemort softly, his red eyes glinting through the darkness.

At these words Harry remembered, as though from a former life, the duelling club at Hogwarts he had attended briefly two years ago...All he had learned there was the Disarming Spell, "Expelliarmus"

"Who the hell taught that club?" Severus asked.

"Lockheart." Three Weasleys and one Mortez chorused.

**...and what use would it be to deprive Voldemort of his wand, even if he could, when he was surrounded by Death Eaters, outnumbered by at least thirty to one? He had never learned anything that could possibly fit him for this. He knew he was facing the thing against which Moody had always warned...the unblockable Avada Kedavra curse - and Voldemort was right - his mother was not here to die for him this time...He was quite unprotected...**

"We bow to each other. Harry," said Voldemort, bending a little, but keeping his snakelike face upturned to Harry. "Come, the niceties must be observed...Dumbledore would like you to show manners...Bow to death, Harry..."

The Death Eaters were laughing again. Voldemort's lipless mouth was smiling. Harry did not bow. He was not going to let Voldemort play with him before killing him...he was not going to give him that satisfaction... 

"Good." James nodded.****

"I said, bow," Voldemort said, raising his wand - and Harry felt his spine curve as though a huge, invisible hand were bending him ruthlessly forward, and the Death Eaters laughed harder than ever.

"Very good," said Voldemort softly, and as he raised his wand the pressure bearing down upon Harry lifted too. "And now you face me, like a man...straight-backed and proud, the way your father died... 

"Bastard." Sirius hissed.****

"And now - we duel."

Voldemort raised his wand, and before Harry could do anything to defend himself, before he could even move, he had been hit again by the Cruciatus Curse. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that he no longer knew where he was...White-hot knives were piercing every inch of his skin, his head was surely going to burst with pain, he was screaming more loudly than he'd ever screamed in his life – 

Lily let out a broken sob. Her poor baby… Harry whimpered, hiding himself in his daddy's robes. Tom nuzzled closer to Lexi.****

And then it stopped. Harry rolled over and scrambled to his feet; he was shaking as uncontrollably as Wormtail had done when his hand had been cut off; he staggered sideways into the wall of watching Death Eaters, and they pushed him away, back toward Voldemort.

"A little break," said Voldemort, the slit-like nostrils dilating with excitement, "a little pause...That hurt, didn't it. Harry? You don't want me to do that again, do you?"

Harry didn't answer. He was going to die like Cedric, those pitiless red eyes were telling him so...he was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it...but he wasn't going to play along. He wasn't going to obey Voldemort...he wasn't going to beg... 

"Good."****

"I asked you whether you want me to do that again," said Voldemort softly. "Answer me! Imperio!"

And Harry felt, for the third time in his life, the sensation that his mind had been wiped of all thought...Ah, it was bliss, not to think, it was as though he were floating, dreaming...just answer no...say no...just answer no...

I will not, said a stronger voice, in the back of his head, I won't answer... 

"He's throwing it off." Pollux's eyes grew wide. He was throwing off the Dark Lord's Imperius curse?****

Just answer no...

I won't do it, I won't say it...

Just answer no...

"I WON'T!"

And these words burst from Harry's mouth; they echoed through the graveyard, and the dream state was lifted as suddenly as though cold water had been thrown over him - back rushed the aches that the Cruciatus Curse had left all over his body - back rushed the realization of where he was, and what he was facing...

"You won't?" said Voldemort quietly, and the Death Eaters were not laughing now. "You won't say no? Harry, obedience is a virtue I need to teach you before you die...Perhaps another little dose of pain?"

Voldemort raised his wand, but this time Harry was ready; with the reflexes born of his Quidditch training, he flung himself sideways onto the ground; he rolled behind the marble headstone of Voldemort's father, and he heard it crack as the curse missed him. 

"C'mon Harry." Regulus muttered, crossing his fingers.****

"We are not playing hide-and-seek, Harry," said Voldemort's soft, cold voice, drawing nearer, as the Death Eaters laughed. "You cannot hide from me. Does this mean you are tired of our duel? Does this mean that you would prefer me to finish it now, Harry? Come out, Harry...come out and play, then...it will be quick...it might even be painless...I would not know...I have never died..." 

"But you will." Charlus said. "We'll make sure that you will."****

Harry crouched behind the headstone and knew the end had come. There was no hope...no help to be had. And as he heard Voldemort draw nearer still, he knew one thing only, and it was beyond fear or reason: He was not going to die crouching here like a child playing hide-and-seek; he was not going to die kneeling at Voldemort's feet...he was going to die upright like his father, and he was going to die trying to defend himself, even if no defense was possible... 

"You are not going to die, Harry." Arthur said. "You are not going to die."****

Before Voldemort could stick his snakelike face around the headstone. Harry stood up...he gripped his wand tightly in his hand, thrust it out in front of him, and threw himself around the headstone, facing Voldemort.

Voldemort was ready. As Harry shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Voldemort cried, "Avada Kedavra!"

A jet of green light issued from Voldemort's wand just as a jet of red light blasted from Harry's - they met in midair - and suddenly Harry's wand was vibrating as though an electric charge were surging through it; his hand seized up around it; he couldn't have released it if he'd wanted to - and a narrow beam of light connected the two wands, neither red nor green, but bright, deep gold. Harry, following the beam with his astonished gaze, saw that Voldemort's long white fingers too were gripping a wand that was shaking and vibrating. 

"What the…" Orion's eyes grew wide as Albus' grew thoughtful.****

And then - nothing could have prepared Harry for this - he felt his feet lift from the ground. He and Voldemort were both being raised into the air, their wands still connected by that thread of shimmering golden light. They glided away from the tombstone of Voldemort's father and then came to rest on a patch of ground that was clear and free of graves...The Death Eaters were shouting; they were asking Voldemort for instructions; they were closing in, reforming the circle around Harry and Voldemort, the snake slithering at their heels, some of them drawing their wands -

The golden thread connecting Harry and Voldemort splintered; though the wands remained connected, a thousand more beams arced high over Harry and Voldemort, crisscrossing all around them, until they were enclosed in a golden, dome-shaped web, a cage of light, beyond which the Death Eaters circled like jackals, their cries strangely muffled now...

"Do nothing!" Voldemort shrieked to the Death Eaters, and Harry saw his red eyes wide with astonishment at what was happening, saw him fighting to break the thread of light still connecting his wand with Harry's; Harry held onto his wand more tightly, with both hands, and the golden thread remained unbroken. "Do nothing unless I command you!" Voldemort shouted to the Death Eaters. 

"His pride will be his downfall." Slughorn stated quietly.****

And then an unearthly and beautiful sound filled the air...It was coming from every thread of the light-spun web vibrating around Harry and Voldemort. It was a sound Harry recognized, though he had heard it only once before in his life: phoenix song. 

"The cores!" Dorea gasped. "Phoenix feather! Maybe, they got feathers from the same phoenix! But, wait…Ollivander uses feathers from different phoenixes…never mind."****

It was the sound of hope to Harry...the most beautiful and welcome thing he had ever heard in his life...He felt as though the song were inside him instead of just around him...It was the sound he connected with Dumbledore, and it was almost as though a friend were speaking in his ear...

Don't break the connection.

I know. Harry told the music, I know I mustn't...but no sooner had he thought it, than the thing became much harder to do. His wand began to vibrate more powerfully than ever...and now the beam between him and Voldemort changed too...it was as though large beads of light were sliding up and down the thread connecting the wands - Harry felt his wand give a shudder under his hand as the light beads began to slide slowly and steadily his way...The direction of the beams movement was now toward him, from Voldemort, and he felt his wand shudder angrily...

As the closest bead of light moved nearer to Harry's wand tip, the wood beneath his fingers grew so hot he feared it would burst into flame. The closer that bead moved, the harder Harry's wand vibrated; he was sure his wand would not survive contact with it; it felt as though it was about to shatter under his fingers -

He concentrated every last particle of his mind upon forcing the bead back toward Voldemort, his ears full of phoenix song, his eyes furious, fixed...and slowly, very slowly, the beads quivered to a halt, and then, just as slowly, they began to move the other way...and it was Voldemort's wand that was vibrating extra-hard now...Voldemort who looked astonished, and almost fearful... 

"He never expected this to happen." Minerva said, astonished. "He expected an easy victory…"****

One of the beads of light was quivering, inches from the tip of Voldemort's wand. Harry didn't understand why he was doing it, didn't know what it might achieve...but he now concentrated as he had never done in his life on forcing that bead of light right back into Voldemort's wand...and slowly...very slowly...it moved along the golden thread...it trembled for a moment...and then it connected...

At once, Voldemort's wand began to emit echoing screams of pain...then - Voldemort's red eyes widened with shock - a dense, smoky hand flew out of the tip of it and vanished...the ghost of the hand he had made Wormtail...more shouts of pain...and then something much larger began to blossom from Voldemort's wand tip, a great, grayish something, that looked as though it were made of the solidest, densest smoke...It was a head...now a chest and arms...the torso of Cedric Diggory. 

"My God!" John's eyebrows rose up his head. "But…how is that even possible?"****

If ever Harry might have released his wand from shock, it would have been then, but instinct kept him clutching his wand tightly, so that the thread of golden light remained unbroken, even though the thick gray ghost of Cedric Diggory 

"Echoes, more like." Helga said.

**(was it a ghost? it looked so solid) emerged in its entirety from the end of Voldemort's wand, as though it were squeezing itself out of a very narrow tunnel...and this shade of Cedric stood up, and looked up and down the golden thread of light, and spoke.**

"Hold on. Harry," it said.

Its voice was distant and echoing. Harry looked at Voldemort...his wide red eyes were still shocked...he had no more expected this than Harry had...and, very dimly. Harry heard the frightened yells of the Death Eaters, prowling around the edges of the golden dome.

More screams of pain from the wand...and then something else emerged from its tip...the dense shadow of a second head, quickly followed by arms and torso...an old man Harry had seen only in a dream was now pushing himself out of the end of the wand just as Cedric had done...and his ghost, or his shadow, or whatever it was, fell next to Cedric's, and surveyed Harry and Voldemort, and the golden web, and the connected wands, with mild surprise, leaning on his walking stick...

"He was a real wizard, then?" the old man said, his eyes on Voldemort. "Killed me, that one did...You fight him, boy..." 

"A Muggle?" Narcissa asked. "He must've been brave…"****

But already, yet another head was emerging...and this head, gray as a smoky statue, was a woman's...Harry, both arms shaking now as he fought to keep his wand still, saw her drop to the ground and straighten up like the others, staring...

The shadow of Bertha Jorkins surveyed the battle before her with wide eyes.

"Don't let go, now!" she cried, and her voice echoed like Cedric's as though from very far away. "Don't let him get you, Harry - don't let go!" 

"Yeah, you go Harry!"****

She and the other two shadowy figures began to pace around the inner walls of the golden web, while the Death Eaters flitted around the outside of it...and Voldemort's dead victims whispered as they circled the duelers, whispered words of encouragement to Harry, and hissed words Harry couldn't hear to Voldemort.

And now another head was emerging from the tip of Voldemort's wand...and Harry knew when he saw it who it would be...he knew, as though he had expected it from the moment when Cedric had appeared from the wand...knew, because the man appearing was the one he'd thought of more than any other tonight...

The smoky shadow of a tall man with untidy hair fell to the ground as Bertha had done, straightened up, and looked at him...and Harry, his arms shaking madly now, looked back into the ghostly face of his father. 

"Me…" James breathed, and he felt tears well up in his eyes.****

"Your mother's coming..." he said quietly. "She wants to see you...it will be all right...hold on..."

And she came...first her head, then her body...a young woman with long hair, the smoky, shadowy form of Lily Potter blossomed from the end of Voldemort's wand, fell to the ground, and straightened like her husband. She walked close to Harry, looking down at him, and she spoke in the same distant, echoing voice as the others, but quietly, so that Voldemort, his face now livid with fear as his victims prowled around him, could not hear...

"When the connection is broken, we will linger for only moments...but we will give you time...you must get to the Portkey, it will return you to Hogwarts...do you understand, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry gasped, fighting now to keep a hold on his wand, which was slipping and sliding beneath his fingers.

"Harry..." whispered the figure of Cedric, "take my body back, will you? Take my body back to my parents,..."

"I will," said Harry, his face screwed up with the effort of holding the wand.

"Do it now," whispered his father's voice, "be ready to run...do it now..."

"NOW!" Harry yelled; he didn't think he could have held on for another moment anyway - he pulled his wand upward with an almighty wrench, and the golden thread broke; the cage of light vanished, the phoenix song died - but the shadowy figures of Voldemort's victims did not disappear - they were closing in upon Voldemort, shielding Harry from his gaze -

And Harry ran as he had never run in his life, knocking two stunned Death Eaters aside as he passed; he zigzagged behind headstones, feeling their curses following him, hearing them hit the headstones - he was dodging curses and graves, pelting toward Cedric's body, no longer aware of the pain in his leg, his whole being concentrated on what he had to do -

"Stun him!" he heard Voldemort scream.

Ten feet from Cedric, Harry dived behind a marble angel to avoid the jets of red light and saw the tip of its wing shatter as the spells hit it. Gripping his wand more tightly, he dashed out from behind the angel -

"Impedimenta!" he bellowed, pointing his wand wildly over his shoulder at the Death Eaters running at him.

From a muffled yell, he thought he had stopped at least one of them, but there was no time to stop and look; he jumped over the cup and dived as he heard more wand blasts behind him; more jets of light flew over his head as he fell, stretching out his hand to grab Cedric's arm...

"Stand aside! I will kill him! He is mine!" shrieked Voldemort. Harry's hand had closed on Cedric's wrist; one tombstone stood between him and Voldemort, but Cedric was too heavy to carry, and the cup was out of reach -

Voldemort's red eyes flamed in the darkness. Harry saw his mouth curl into a smile, saw him raise his wand.

"Accio!" Harry yelled, pointing his wand at the Triwizard Cup. It flew into the air and soared toward him. Harry caught it by the handle -

He heard Voldemort's scream of fury at the same moment that he felt the jerk behind his navel that meant the Portkey had worked - it was speeding him away in a whirl of wind and color, and Cedric along with him...They were going back.

**XoOoX**

****

"He'll need to go to the hospital wing!" Fudge was saying loudly. "He's ill, he's injured - Dumbledore, Diggory's parents, they're here, they're in the stands..."

"I'll take Harry, Dumbledore, I'll take him -"

"No, I would prefer-"

"Dumbledore, Amos Diggory's running...he's coming over...Don't you think you should tell him - before he sees - ?"

"Harry, stay here -"

Girls were screaming, sobbing hysterically...The scene flickered oddly before Harry's eyes...

"Its all right, son, I've got you...come on...hospital wing..."

"No, don't. Stay there." Regulus muttered.****

"Dumbledore said stay," said Harry thickly, the pounding in his scar making him feel as though he was about to throw up; his vision was blurring worse than ever.

"You need to lie down...Come on now..."

Someone larger and stronger than he was was half pulling, half carrying him through the frightened crowd. Harry heard people gasping, screaming, and shouting as the man supporting him pushed a path through them, taking him back to the castle. Across the lawn, past the lake and the Durmstrang ship, Harry heard nothing but the heavy breathing of the man helping him walk.

"What happened. Harry?" the man asked at last as he lifted Harry up the stone steps. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. It was Mad-Eye Moody. 

Lily's eyes widened as something clicked in her head. "The spy!"

"But that's Moody!" James protested. "He's an Auror!"

"There's a little thing called Polyjuice Potion, idiot! He could be using that!"****

"Cup was a Portkey," said Harry as they crossed the entrance hall. "Took me and Cedric to a graveyard...and Voldemort was there...Lord Voldemort..."

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Up the marble stairs...

"The Dark Lord was there? What happened then?"

"Killed Cedric...they killed Cedric..."

"And then?"

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Along the corridor...

"Made a potion...got his body back..."

"The Dark Lord got his body back? He's returned?" 

"Moody wouldn't call Voldemort the Dark Lord." Fabian frowned. "I'm agreeing with Lily here."****

"And the Death Eaters came...and then we dueled..."

"You duelled with the Dark Lord?"

"Got away...my wand...did something funny...I saw my mum and dad...they came out of his wand..."

"In here. Harry...in here, and sit down...You'll be all right now...drink this..."

Harry heard a key scrape in a lock and felt a cup being pushed into his hands.

"Drink it...you'll feel better...come on, now. Harry, I need to know exactly what happened..."

Moody helped tip the stuff down Harry's throat; he coughed, a peppery taste burning his throat. 

"Pepper up potion." Slughorn said as he was met with worried gazes.

**Moody's office came into sharper focus, and so did Moody himself...He looked as white as Fudge had looked, and both eyes were fixed unblinkingly upon Harry's face.**

"Voldemort's back, Harry? You're sure he's back? How did he do it?"

"He took stuff from his father's grave, and from Wormtail, and me," said Harry. His head felt clearer; his scar wasn't hurting so badly; he could now see Moody's face distinctly, even though the office was dark. He could still hear screaming and shouting from the distant Quidditch field.

"What did the Dark Lord take from you?" said Moody.

"Blood," said Harry, raising his arm. His sleeve was ripped where Wormtail's dagger had torn it.

Moody let out his breath in a long, low hiss.

"And the Death Eaters? They returned?"

"Yes," said Harry. "Loads of them..."

"How did he treat them?" Moody asked quietly. "Did he forgive them?"

But Harry had suddenly remembered. He should have told Dumbledore, he should have said it straightaway -

"There's a Death Eater at Hogwarts! There's a Death Eater here - they put my name in the Goblet of Fire, they made sure I got through to the end -"

Harry tried to get up, but Moody pushed him back down.

"I know who the Death Eater is," he said quietly. 

"It's him." Severus said, eyes widening. "But who is he?"****

"Karkaroff?" said Harry wildly. "Where is he? Have you got him? Is he locked up?"

"Karkaroff?" said Moody with an odd laugh. "Karkaroff fled tonight, when he felt the Dark Mark burn upon his arm. He betrayed too many faithful supporters of the Dark Lord to wish to meet them...but I doubt he will get far. The Dark Lord has ways of tracking his enemies."

"Karkaroff's gone? He ran away? But then - he didn't put my name in the goblet?"

"No," said Moody slowly. "No, he didn't. It was I who did that."

Harry heard, but didn't believe.

"No, you didn't," he said. "You didn't do that...you can't have done..."

"I assure you I did," said Moody, and his magical eye swung around and fixed upon the door, and Harry knew he was making sure that there was no one outside it. At the same time, Moody drew out his wand and pointed it at Harry. 

"Shit." Molly cursed under her breath, most unlike herself.****

"He forgave them, then?" he said. "The Death Eaters who went free? The ones who escaped Azkaban?"

"What?" said Harry.

He was looking at the wand Moody was pointing at him. This was a bad joke, it had to be.

"I asked you," said Moody quietly, "whether he forgave the scum who never even went to look for him. Those treacherous cowards who wouldn't even brave Azkaban for him. The faithless, worthless bits of filth who were brave enough to cavort in masks at the Quidditch World Cup, but fled at the sight of the Dark Mark when I fired it into the sky."

"You fired...What are you talking about...?"

"I told you. Harry...I told you. If there's one thing I hate more than any other, it's a Death Eater who walked free. They turned their backs on my master when he needed them most. I expected him to punish them. I expected him to torture them. Tell me he hurt them, Harry..." Moody's face was suddenly lit with an insane smile. "Tell me he told them that I, I alone remained faithful...prepared to risk everything to deliver to him the one thing he wanted above all...you."

"You didn't...it - it can't be you..."

"Who put your name in the Goblet of Fire, under the name of a different school? I did. Who frightened off every person I thought might try to hurt you or prevent you from winning the tournament? I did. Who nudged Hagrid into showing you the dragons? I did. Who helped you see the only way you could beat the dragon? I did." 

"He thought this out really well, didn't he?" Abraxas said, scowling.****

Moody's magical eye had now left the door. It was fixed upon Harry. His lopsided mouth leered more widely than ever.

"It hasn't been easy, Harry, guiding you through these tasks without arousing suspicion. I have had to use every ounce of cunning I possess, so that my hand would not be detectable in your success. Dumbledore would have been very suspicious if you had managed everything too easily. As long as you got into that maze, preferably with a decent head start - then, I knew, I would have a chance of getting rid of the other champions and leaving your way clear. But I also had to contend with your stupidity. The second task...that was when I was most afraid we would fail. I was keeping watch on you, Potter. I knew you hadn't worked out the egg's clue, so I had to give you another hint -"

"You didn't," Harry said hoarsely. "Cedric gave me the clue -" 

"And he didn't know the consequences of that action." Pomona sighed. "Poor boy…"****

"Who told Cedric to open it underwater? I did. I trusted that he would pass the information on to you. Decent people are so easy to manipulate, Potter. I was sure Cedric would want to repay you for telling him about the dragons, and so he did. But even then, Potter, even then you seemed likely to fail. I was watching all the time...all those hours in the library. Didn't you realize that the book you needed was in your dormitory all along? I planted it there early on, I gave it to the Longbottom boy, don't you remember? Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean. It would have told you all you needed to know about gillyweed. I expected you to ask everyone and anyone you could for help. Longbottom would have told you in an instant. But you did not...you did not...You have a streak of pride and independence that might have ruined all. 

"That seems to be Harry's life mission." Fred laughed.

"Harry Potter – destroying evil's plans since 1980." George added, chuckling.****

"So what could I do? Feed you information from another innocent source. You told me at the Yule Ball a house-elf called Dobby had given you a Christmas present. I called the elf to the staffroom to collect some robes for cleaning. I staged a loud conversation with Professor McGonagall about the hostages who had been taken, and whether Potter would think to use gillyweed. And your little elf friend ran straight to Snape's office and then hurried to find you..."

Moody's wand was still pointing directly at Harry's heart. Over his shoulder, foggy shapes were moving in the Foe-Glass on the wall. 

"Oh, dear sweet Merlin, please don't turn around." Serena crossed her fingers.****

"You were so long in that lake, Potter, I thought you had drowned. But luckily, Dumbledore took your idiocy

"Hey! My son is not an idiot!" Lily and James yelled in unison, before glaring at each other and turning away simultaneously. Sirius and Remus exchanged amused glances.

**for nobility, and marked you high for it. I breathed again.**

"You had an easier time of it than you should have in that maze tonight, of course," said Moody. "I was patrolling around it, able to see through the outer hedges, able to curse many obstacles out of your way. I Stunned Fleur Delacour as she passed. I put the Imperius Curse on Krum, so that he would finish Diggory and leave your path to the cup clear." 

"But Harry's a noble twit, so stopped all that happening." Gideon stated proudly.

"Bloody brilliant, that kid is." Fabian added.****

Harry stared at Moody. He just didn't see how this could be...Dumbledore's friend, the famous Auror...the one who had caught so many Death Eaters...It made no sense...no sense at all... 

"Becau-ause, it obviously isn't Moody." Regulus sang, slightly amused at his mother's reprimanding look. Not like he cared.****

The foggy shapes in the Foe-Glass were sharpening, had become more distinct. Harry could see the outlines of three people over Moody's shoulder, moving closer and closer. But Moody wasn't watching them. His magical eye was upon Harry. 

"Good." John sighed, slightly relieved.****

"The Dark Lord didn't manage to kill you. Potter, and he so wanted to," whispered Moody. "Imagine how he will reward me when he finds I have done it for him. I gave you to him - the thing he needed above all to regenerate - and then I killed you for him. I will be honored beyond all other Death Eaters. I will be his dearest, his closest supporter...closer than a son..." 

"Ok, that's overly creepy." Lily winced slightly.

"Voldemort wouldn't be happy if the imposter killed Harry." Salazar said in thought. "It would make him seem weak."

"Like if I killed your arch nemesis, it would make you feel weak, right Sal?" Godric piped up.

"That would mean killing yourself." Salazar replied, his eyes sparking in amusement. Godric flashed him a brilliant smile.

"Touché."****

Moody's normal eye was bulging, the magical eye fixed upon Harry. The door was barred, and Harry knew he would never reach his own wand in time...

"The Dark Lord and I," said Moody, and he looked completely insane now, towering over Harry, leering down at him, "have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers...very disappointing indeed. Both of us suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure...the very great pleasure...of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!" 

"Barty!" All of a sudden, it seemed to just…click. Lexi's mind was whirling. "Barty Crouch was killed, but Madam Maxime was blamed for it. I bet it was him and that's Crouch Junior!"

"Barty Crouch had a son?"

"Surely not Barty! He's my dorm mate!"

The first comment came from Percy, the second from Regulus.

"We'll just have to see…it's the only thing that seems to work, y'know." Lexi said. Yet again, she was realising she barely knew anything about Harry.****

"You're mad," Harry said - he couldn't stop himself- "you're mad!" 

"No duh." Sirius muttered.****

"Mad, am I?" said Moody, his voice rising uncontrollably. "We'll see! We'll see who's mad, now that the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back, Harry Potter, you did not conquer him - and now - I conquer you!" 

"Is it just me, or do all villains make long, dramatic speeches, before attempting to kill someone?" Bella asked, amused. "Seems pretty stupid to me." She then continued reading.****

Moody raised his wand, he opened his mouth; Harry plunged his own hand into his robes -

"Stupefy!" There was a blinding flash of red light, and with a great splintering and crashing, the door of Moody's office was blasted apart -

Moody was thrown backward onto the office floor. Harry, still staring at the place where Moody's face had been, saw Albus Dumbledore, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall 

"Thank Merlin!" Lily flopped back into her seat with relief.

**looking back at him out of the Foe-Glass. He looked around and saw the three of them standing in the doorway, Dumbledore in front, his wand outstretched.**

At that moment, Harry fully understood for the first time why people said Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The look upon Dumbledore's face as he stared down at the unconscious form of Mad-Eye Moody was more terrible than Harry could have ever imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles. There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat. 

"Creepy much, sir?" Lexi raised an eyebrow as the headmaster chuckled slightly.

The current students and some of the younger adults stared at Dumbledore in shock – they thought that their headmaster couldn't get that angry.****

He stepped into the office, placed a foot underneath Moody's unconscious body, and kicked him over onto his back, so that his face was visible. Snape followed him, looking into the Foe-Glass, where his own face was still visible, glaring into the room. Professor McGonagall went straight to Harry.

"Come along, Potter," she whispered. The thin line of her mouth was twitching as though she was about to cry. "Come along...hospital wing..."

"No," said Dumbledore sharply. 

Rose raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Why not?" Dumbledore sighed.

"I'm not sure myself."****

"Dumbledore, he ought to - look at him - he's been through enough tonight -"

"He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand," said Dumbledore curtly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight, and why," 

"True." Flitwick said, Dorea nodding, though slightly hesitant.****

"Moody," Harry said. He was still in a state of complete disbelief. "How can it have been Moody?"

"This is not Alastor Moody," 

"Knew it!" Reg, Sev and Lily chimed in unison, beaming at each other.

**said Dumbledore quietly. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment he took you, I knew - and I followed."**

Dumbledore bent down over Moody's limp form and put a hand inside his robes. He pulled out Moody's hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. Then he turned to Professors McGonagall and Snape.

"Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens and bring up the house-elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here." 

"Oh, good. I'm there." Sirius stated, smiling slightly.****

If either Snape or McGonagall found these instructions peculiar, they hid their confusion. 

"You become used to it." Minerva said as she gained many inquiring looks.

**Both turned at once and left the office. Dumbledore walked over to the trunk with seven locks, fitted the first key in the lock, and opened it. It contained a mass of spell-books. Dumbledore closed the trunk, placed a second key in the second lock, and opened the trunk again. The spellbooks had vanished; this time it contained an assortment of broken Sneako-scopes, some parchment and quills, and what looked like a silvery Invisibility Cloak. Harry watched, astounded, as Dumbledore placed the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth keys in their respective locks, reopening the trunk each time, and revealing different contents each time. Then he placed the seventh key in the lock, threw open the lid, and Harry let out a cry of amazement.**

He was looking down into a kind of pit, an underground room, 

"That would be extremely useful." Rowena said, imagining how many books or equipment she could fit in there.

**and lying on the floor some ten feet below, apparently fast asleep, thin and starved in appearance, was the real Mad-Eye Moody. His wooden leg was gone, the socket that should have held the magical eye looked empty beneath its lid, and chunks of his grizzled hair were missing. Harry stared, thunderstruck, between the sleeping Moody in the trunk and the unconscious Moody lying on the floor of the office. **

"That has got to be disorientating." Fabian pointed out. "Poor kid."****

Dumbledore climbed into the trunk, lowered himself, and fell lightly onto the floor beside the sleeping Moody. He bent over him.

"Stunned - controlled by the Imperius Curse - very weak," he said. "Of course, they would have needed to keep him alive. Harry, throw down the imposter's cloak - he's freezing. 

"Anyone in that position would be." Arthur stated.

**Madam Pomfrey will need to see him, but he seems in no immediate danger."**

Harry did as he was told; Dumbledore covered Moody in the cloak, tucked it around him, and clambered out of the trunk again. Then he picked up the hip flask that stood upon the desk, unscrewed it, and turned it over. A thick glutinous liquid splattered onto the office floor. 

"Polyjuice Potion." Slughorn stated, nodding slightly. "It appears as though Miss Evans', Mr Snape's and Mr Black's assumption was correct." The three students beamed.****

"Polyjuice Potion, Harry," said Dumbledore. "You see the simplicity of it, and the brilliance. For Moody never does drink except from his hip flask, he's well known for it. The imposter needed, of course, to keep the real Moody close by, so that he could continue making the potion. You see his hair..." Dumbledore looked down on the Moody in the trunk. "The imposter has been cutting it off all year, see where it is uneven? But I think, in the excitement of tonight, our fake Moody might have forgotten to take it as frequently as he should have done...on the hour...every hour...We shall see."

Dumbledore pulled out the chair at the desk and sat down upon it, his eyes fixed upon the unconscious Moody on the floor. Harry stared at him too. Minutes passed in silence... 

"That must've been boring." Lexi commented. She couldn't be very patient – she liked to be doing something. In the time she had been silent, she had been carding her fingers through Tom's hair or plaiting random strands of free hair.****

Then, before Harry's very eyes, the face of the man on the floor began to change. The scars were disappearing, the skin was becoming smooth; the mangled nose became whole and started to shrink. The long mane of grizzled gray hair was withdrawing into the scalp and turning the color of straw. Suddenly, with a loud clunk, the wooden leg fell away as a normal leg regrew in its place; next moment, the magical eyeball had popped out of the man's face as a real eye replaced it; it rolled away across the floor and continued to swivel in every direction. 

"Ew, gross." Petunia pulled a face.****

Harry saw a man lying before him, pale-skinned, slightly freckled, with a mop of fair hair. He knew who he was. He had seen him in Dumbledore's Pensieve, had watched him being led away from court by the dementors, trying to convince Mr Crouch that he was innocent...

"Innocent of what?" Lucius asked.

"I'm not sure." Percy mused, turning to the red headed Slytherin sitting next to him, who shrugged in a way of response.

**but he was lined around the eyes now and looked much older...**

There were hurried footsteps outside in the corridor. Snape had returned with Winky at his heels. Professor McGonagall was right behind them.

"Crouch!" Snape said, stopping dead in the doorway. "Barty Crouch!" 

"Must be our Barty." Regulus bit his lower lip at that – he was sharing a dorm with a killer. But Barty had never seemed like a killer to him. He never liked his dad, but Barty was friendly enough.****

"Good heavens," said Professor McGonagall, stopping dead and staring down at the man on the floor.

Filthy, disheveled, Winky peered around Snape's legs. Her mouth opened wide and she let out a piercing shriek.

"Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you doing here?"

She flung herself forward onto the young man's chest.

"You is killed him! You is killed him! You is killed Master's son!" 

"Poor Winky." Fred said, frowning slightly.****

"He is simply Stunned, Winky," said Dumbledore. "Step aside, please. Severus, you have the potion?"

Snape handed Dumbledore a small glass bottle of completely clear liquid: the Veritaserum with which he had threatened Harry in class. 

Everyone turned to stare at Severus, who raised his hands in defence.

"I haven't done it yet!"

"See that you don't." Eileen told him. The pallor boy nodded vigorously.

**Dumbledore got up, bent over the man on the floor, and pulled him into a sitting position against the wall beneath the Foe-Glass, in which the reflections of Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall were still glaring down upon them all. Winky remained on her knees, trembling, her hands over her face. Dumbledore forced the man's mouth open and poured three drops inside it. Then he pointed his wand at the man's chest and said, "Ennervate."**

Crouch's son opened his eyes. His face was slack, his gaze unfocused. Dumbledore knelt before him, so that their faces were level.

"Can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

The man's eyelids flickered.

"Yes," he muttered.

"I would like you to tell us," said Dumbledore softly, "how you came to be here. How did you escape from Azkaban?"

Crouch took a deep, shuddering breath, then began to speak in a flat, expressionless voice.  


"That's always creepy." Gideon shuddered slightly.

"Veritaserum – truth serum. Useful." Rowena nodded slightly.

"Not so much if you are trying to hide important secrets." Narcissa piped up, slightly hesitant. The founder looked thoughtful at the blonde's comment.

**"My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me as a last favor to her. He loved her as he had never loved me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance." **

"Wow." Bellatrix blinked, staring slightly at what she was reading. "That's brave of her."

"Very." Sirius agreed with his cousin, causing a few people to stare at the animagus. "Dementors are just creepy…no matter how close you are to dying, it won't be pleasant having to live with them."****

Winky was shaking her head, trembling.

"Say no more. Master Barty, say no more, you is getting your father into trouble!"

But Crouch took another deep breath and continued in the same flat voice.

"The dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban. They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors. 

"Ingenious." Minerva breathed.

"Slytherin." Lexi corrected absently.****

"My mother died a short while afterward in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me."

The man's eyelids flickered.

"And what did your father do with you, when he had got you home?" said Dumbledore quietly.

"Staged my mother's death. A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. The house-elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength, I thought only of finding my master...of returning to his service." 

"Returning to Voldemort." Andy said, hands running through Dora's long, now black hair. Ted wrapped an arm around the brown-haired woman.****

"How did your father subdue you?" said Dumbledore.

"The Imperius Curse," Moody said. "I was under my fathers control. I was forced to wear an Invisibility Cloak day and night. I was always with the house-elf. She was my keeper and caretaker. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior."

"Master Barty, Master Barty," sobbed Winky through her hands. "You isn't ought to tell them, we is getting in trouble..." 

"That must be awful for the poor thing to hear." Rose said, sounding pitying towards the house-elf.****

"Did anybody ever discover that you were still alive?" said Dumbledore softly. "Did anyone know except your father and the house-elf?"

"Yes," said Crouch, his eyelids flickering again. "A witch in my father's office. Bertha Jorkins. She came to the house with papers for my father's signature. He was not at home. Winky showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard Winky talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. My father arrived home. She confronted him. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently." 

Percy winced. His boss had done that. Damaged an innocent person's memory permanently, because she had found out that he had broken the law. It was terrible.****

"Why is she coming to nose into my masters private business?" sobbed Winky. "Why isn't she leaving us be?"

"Tell me about the Quidditch World Cup," said Dumbledore.

"Winky talked my father into it," said Crouch, still in the same monotonous voice. "She spent months persuading him. I had not left the house for years. I had loved Quidditch. Let him go, she said. He will be in his Invisibility Cloak. He can watch. Let him smell fresh air for once. She said my mother would have wanted it. She told my father that my mother had died to give me freedom. She had not saved me for a life of imprisonment. He agreed in the end.

"It was carefully planned. My father led me and Winky up to the Top Box early in the day. Winky was to say that she was saving a seat for my father. I was to sit there, invisible. When everyone had left the box, we would emerge. Winky would appear to be alone. Nobody would ever know.

"But Winky didn't know that I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse. There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed outside his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw, in front of me, a wand sticking out of a boys pocket.

"Ah, that's what happened to Harry's wand." Lexi realised. Fred and George nodded in unison. Charlus sighed.

"That was not an intelligent move." Little Harry looked sheepish.

"Sorry? I'll try not to do it in the future."

**I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. I stole it. Winky didn't know. Winky is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden."**

"Master Barty, you bad boy!" whispered Winky, tears trickling between her fingers.

"So you took the wand," said Dumbledore, "and what did you do with it?"

"We went back to the tent," said Crouch. "Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who had never suffered for my master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved, as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did not. They were merely making sport of Muggles. The sound of their voices awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry. I had the wand.

I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. My father had left the tent; he had gone to free the Muggles. Winky was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky. 

Those who knew they were to join the Death Eaters in the future winced at that, hands' twitching towards their left arms, despite the fact the symbol was not yet tattooed onto their skin.****

"Ministry wizards arrived. They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. One of the spells came through the trees where Winky and I stood. The bond connecting us was broken. We were both Stunned.

"When Winky was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found and felt me lying there. He waited until the other Ministry members had left the forest. He put me back under the Imperius Curse and took me home. He dismissed Winky. She had failed him. She had let me acquire a wand. She had almost let me escape." 

"It wasn't the elf's fault though." Lily protested. "It's not her fault she's scared of heights."****

Winky let out a wail of despair.

"Now it was just Father and I, alone in the house. And then...and then..." Crouch's head rolled on his neck, and an insane grin spread across his face. "My master came for me.

"He arrived at our house late one night in the arms of his servant Wormtail. My master had found out that I was still alive. He had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant - perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door."

The smile spread wider over Crouch's face, as though recalling the sweetest memory of his life. Winky's petrified brown eyes were visible through her fingers. She seemed too appalled to speak.

"It was very quick. My father was placed under the Imperius Curse by my master. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years. 

"That's insane." Dorea muttered under her breath.****

"And what did Lord Voldemort ask you to do?" said Dumbledore.

"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Harry Potter through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Harry Potter. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master. But first -"

"You needed Alastor Moody," said Dumbledore. His blue eyes were blazing, though his voice remained calm. 

"Obviously, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get in." Filius murmured.****

"Wormtail and I did it. We had prepared the Polyjuice Potion beforehand. We journeyed to his house. Moody put up a struggle. There was a commotion. We managed to subdue him just in time. Forced him into a compartment of his own magical trunk. Took some of his hair and added it to the potion. I drank it; I became Moody's double. I took his leg and his eye. I was ready to face Arthur Weasley 

Arthur started at the mention of his name.

**when he arrived to sort out the Muggles who had heard a disturbance. I made the dustbins move around the yard. I told Arthur Weasley I had heard intruders in my yard, who had set off the dustbins. Then I packed up Moody's clothes and Dark detectors, put them in the trunk with Moody, and set off for Hogwarts. I kept him alive, under the Imperius Curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past, learn his habits, so that I could fool even Dumbledore. I also needed his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. The other ingredients were easy. I stole boom-slang skin from the dungeons. When the Potions master found me in his office, I said I was under orders to search it." **

"That makes sense – Severus is the Potions master, right?" At the twins' nods, Regulus nodded. "Hmm…" Was Sev to become a Death Eater or something similar?****

"And what became of Wormtail after you attacked Moody?" said Dumbledore.

"Wormtail returned to care for my master, in my father's house, and to keep watch over my father." 

"Wish he died." Lexi muttered under her breath.****

"But your father escaped," said Dumbledore.

"Yes. After a while he began to fight the Imperius Curse just as I had done. There were periods when he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to send letters to the Ministry instead. He made him write and say he was ill. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit that he had smuggled me from Azkaban. 

"Good for him." Michael nodded firmly.****

"My master sent me word of my father's escape. He told me to stop him at all costs. So I waited and watched. I used the map I had taken from Harry Potter. The map that had almost ruined everything."

"Map?" said Dumbledore quickly. "What map is this?"

"Potter's map of Hogwarts. 

"Ah, the Marauders Map." The three Marauders in the room exchanged grins.

**Potter saw me on it. Potter saw me stealing more ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion from Snape's office one night. He thought I was my father. We have the same first name. I took the map from Potter that night. I told him my father hated Dark wizards. Potter believed my father was after Snape. **

Sev raised an eyebrow. "I assume I become a Death Eater or support Voldemort."

"You spy for Dumbledore." Lexi said, shooting the twins and Percy a warning look. Don't tell them yet, it said, don't make them turn on him so soon.****

"For a week I waited for my father to arrive at Hogwarts. At last, one evening, the map showed my father entering the grounds. I pulled on my Invisibility Cloak and went down to meet him. He was walking around the edge of the forest. Then Potter came, and Krum. I waited. I could not hurt Potter; my master needed him. Potter ran to get Dumbledore. I Stunned Krum. I killed my father." 

Tom flinched slightly.****

"Noooo!" wailed Winky. "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you saying?"

"You killed your father," Dumbledore said, in the same soft voice. "What did you do with the body?"

"Carried it into the forest. Covered it with the Invisibility Cloak. I had the map with me. I watched Potter run into the castle. He met Snape. Dumbledore joined them. I watched Potter bringing Dumbledore out of the castle. I walked back out of the forest, doubled around behind them, went to meet them. I told Dumbledore Snape had told me where to come.

"Dumbledore told me to go and look for my father. I went back to my father's body. Watched the map. When everyone was gone, I Transfigured my father's body. He became a bone...I buried it, while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid's cabin." 

"Very Slytherin." Salazar didn't sound as if he approved of the actions of Barty Crouch, though.****

There was complete silence now, except for Winky's continued sobs. Then Dumbledore said, "And tonight..."

"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner," whispered Barty Crouch. "Turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards."

The insane smile lit his features once more, and his head drooped onto his shoulder as Winky wailed and sobbed at his side.

**XoOoX**

**Dumbledore stood up. He stared down at Barty Crouch for a moment with disgust on his face. Then he raised his wand once more and ropes flew out of it, ropes that twisted themselves around Barty Crouch, binding him tightly. He turned to Professor McGonagall.**

"Minerva, could I ask you to stand guard here while I take Harry upstairs?"  


"Obviously – if anyone can guard anything, it's Minerva." Percy rolled his eyes. The Deputy Headmistress nodded slightly at the man's praise, a slight smile gracing her lips. The twins mouths gaped at the smile.

**"Of course," said Professor McGonagall. She looked slightly nauseous, as though she had just watched someone being sick. However, when she drew out her wand and pointed it at Barty Crouch, her hand was quite steady.**

"Severus" - Dumbledore turned to Snape - "please tell Madam Pomfrey to come down here; we need to get Alastor Moody into the hospital wing. Then go down into the grounds, find Cornelius Fudge, and bring him up to this office. He will undoubtedly want to question Crouch himself. Tell him I will be in the hospital wing in half an hour's time if he needs me."

Snape nodded silently and swept out of the room. 

"Like a bat." George beamed, ignoring the death glare he was receiving from the future Potions master.****

"Harry?" Dumbledore said gently.

Harry got up and swayed again; the pain in his leg, which he had not noticed all the time he had been listening to Crouch, now returned in full measure. He also realized that he was shaking. Dumbledore gripped his arm and helped him out into the dark corridor.

"I want you to come up to my office first. Harry," he said quietly as they headed up the passageway. "Sirius is waiting for us there." 

"Yes!" Sirius cheered for himself. Those who knew him well rolled their eyes fondly or shot him reproving looks.****

Harry nodded. A kind of numbness and a sense of complete unreality were upon him, but he did not care; he was even glad of it. He didn't want to have to think about anything that had happened since he had first touched the Triwizard Cup. He didn't want to have to examine the memories, fresh and sharp as photographs, which kept flashing across his mind. Mad-Eye Moody, inside the trunk. Wormtail, slumped on the ground, cradling his stump of an arm. Voldemort, rising from the steaming cauldron. Cedric...dead...Cedric, asking to be returned to his parents...  


Serena twitched – the poor boy's parents…

**"Professor," Harry mumbled, "where are Mr. and Mrs. Diggory?"**

"They are with Professor Sprout," said Dumbledore. His voice, which had been so calm throughout the interrogation of Barty Crouch, shook very slightly for the first time. "She was Head of Cedric's house, and knew him best." 

Pomona bowed her head, her eyes welling with tears for the student who had lost his life too soon.****

They had reached the stone gargoyle. Dumbledore gave the password, it sprang aside, and he and Harry went up the moving spiral staircase to the oak door. Dumbledore pushed it open. Sirius was standing there. His face was white and gaunt as it had been when he had escaped Azkaban. In one swift moment, he had crossed the room.

"Harry, are you all right? I knew it - I knew something like this - what happened?"

His hands shook as he helped Harry into a chair in front of the desk.

"What happened?" he asked more urgently. 

"Give him time." James raised his eyebrows at his brother in all but blood.

"I was worried – or, well, I would be worried." Sirius shrugged.****

Dumbledore began to tell Sirius everything Barty Crouch had said. Harry was only half listening. So tired every bone in his body was aching, he wanted nothing more than to sit here, undisturbed, for hours and hours, until he fell asleep and didn't have to think or feel anymore.

There was a soft rush of wings. Fawkes the phoenix had left his perch, flown across the office, and landed on Harry's knee.

"'Lo, Fawkes," said Harry quietly. He stroked the phoenix's beautiful scarlet-and-gold plumage. Fawkes blinked peacefully up at him. There was something comforting about his warm weight.

Dumbledore stopped talking. He sat down opposite Harry, behind his desk. He was looking at Harry, who avoided his eyes. Dumbledore was going to question him. He was going to make Harry relive everything. 

Minerva scowled at the Headmaster. "At least let him rest!" She said, scowling.****

"I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze. Harry," said Dumbledore.

"We can leave that till morning, can't we, Dumbledore?" said Sirius harshly. He had put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let him have a sleep. Let him rest." 

"Good." Molly nodded sharply. The poor boy needed rest – he'd just watched a friend die and Voldemort come back, for Merlin's sake! He deserved a rest.****

Harry felt a rush of gratitude toward Sirius, but Dumbledore took no notice of Sirius's words. He leaned forward toward Harry. Very unwillingly, Harry raised his head and looked into those blue eyes.

"If I thought I could help you," Dumbledore said gently, "by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has happened tonight, I would do it. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. I ask you to tell us what happened." 

"He always has to demonstrate courage." Lexi muttered, frowning.

"Poor blighter." Fred inputted not too helpfully.****

The phoenix let out one soft, quavering note. It shivered in the air, and Harry felt as though a drop of hot liquid had slipped down his throat into his stomach, warming him, and strengthening him.

He took a deep breath and began to tell them. As he spoke, visions of everything that had passed that night seemed to rise before his eyes; he saw the sparkling surface of the potion that had revived Voldemort; he saw the Death Eaters Apparating between the graves around them; he saw Cedric's body, lying on the ground beside the cup.

Once or twice, Sirius made a noise as though about to say something, his hand still tight on Harry's shoulder, but Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him, and Harry was glad of this, because it was easier to keep going now he had started. It was even a relief; he felt almost as though something poisonous were being extracted from him. It was costing him every bit of determination he had to keep talking, yet he sensed that once he had finished, he would feel better. 

"A problem shared is a problem halved." Petunia couldn't help but say, Rose nodding in agreement with her eldest daughter.****

When Harry told of Wormtail piercing his arm with the dagger, however, Sirius let out a vehement exclamation and Dumbledore stood up so quickly that Harry started. Dumbledore walked around the desk and told Harry to stretch out his arm. Harry showed them both the place where his robes were torn and the cut beneath them.

"He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's," Harry told Dumbledore. "He said the protection my - my mother left in me - he'd have it too. And he was right - he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face."

For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. 

Many sets of accusing eyes turned to the old headmaster, including some of the Gryffindors who trusted their headmaster greatly.

"What?" Charlus breathed, anger seeping through that one word.

"I'm afraid I do not know, Charlus." Dumbledore said, sounding as though all his years had been piled on top of him. "I do not know."

**But next second. Harry was sure he had imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the desk, he looked as old and weary as Harry had ever seen him.**

"Very well," he said, sitting down again. "Voldemort has overcome that particular barrier. Harry, continue, please."

Harry went on; he explained how Voldemort had emerged from the cauldron, and told them all he could remember of Voldemort's speech to the Death Eaters. Then he told how Voldemort had untied him, returned his wand to him, and prepared to duel.

But when he reached the part where the golden beam of light had connected his and Voldemort's wands, he found his throat obstructed. He tried to keep talking, but the memories of what had come out of Voldemort's wand were flooding into his mind. He could see Cedric emerging, see the old man, Bertha Jorkins...his father...his mother...

He was glad when Sirius broke the silence.

"The wands connected?" he said, looking from Harry to Dumbledore. "Why?"

Harry looked up at Dumbledore again, on whose face there was an arrested look.

"Priori Incantatem," he muttered. 

"The Reverse Spell?" Abraxas leaned forward, rather curious.****

His eyes gazed into Harry's and it was almost as though an invisible beam of understanding shot between them.

"The Reverse Spell effect?" said Sirius sharply.

"Exactly," said Dumbledore. "Harry's wand and Voldemort's wand share cores. Each of them contains a feather from the tail of the same phoenix. This phoenix, in fact," he added, and he pointed at the scarlet-and-gold bird, perching peacefully on Harry's knee. 

Dorea looked rather smug at the fact that her assumption was correct.****

"My wand's feather came from Fawkes?" Harry said, amazed.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "Mr. Ollivander wrote to tell me you had bought the second wand, the moment you left his shop four years ago."

"So what happens when a wand meets its brother?" said Sirius.

"They will not work properly against each other," said Dumbledore. "If, however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do battle...a very rare effect will take place. One of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has performed - in reverse. The most recent first...and then those which preceded it..."

He looked interrogatively at Harry, and Harry nodded.

"Which means," said Dumbledore slowly, his eyes upon Harry's face, "that some form of Cedric must have reappeared."

Harry nodded again.

"Diggory came back to life?" said Sirius sharply. 

"No spell can reawaken the dead." Walburga Black stated sharply.****

"No spell can reawaken the dead," said Dumbledore heavily. 

Some people couldn't stop the laughter that escaped them at the stunned look on Walburga's face. Regulus was turning red from trying to suppress his laughter. Even Orion was amused.

**"All that would have happened is a kind of reverse echo. A shadow of the living Cedric would have emerged from the wand...am I correct, Harry?"**

"He spoke to me," Harry said. He was suddenly shaking again. "The...the ghost Cedric, or whatever he was, spoke."

"An echo," said Dumbledore, "which retained Cedric's appearance and character. I am guessing other such forms appeared...less recent victims of Voldemort's wand..."

"An old man," Harry said, his throat still constricted. "Bertha Jorkins. And..."

"Your parents?" said Dumbledore quietly.

"Yes," said Harry.

Sirius's grip on Harry's shoulder was now so tight it was painful.

"The last murders the wand performed," said Dumbledore, nodding. "In reverse order. More would have appeared, of course, had you maintained the connection. Very well, Harry, these echoes, these shadows...what did they do?"

Harry described how the figures that had emerged from the wand had prowled the edges of the golden web, how Voldemort had seemed to fear them, how the shadow of Harry's mother had told him what to do, how Cedric's had made its final request.

At this point. Harry found he could not continue. He looked around at Sirius and saw that he had his face in his hands. 

Remus wrapped an arm around Sirius' shoulders at this, as he was in the same position as the book described.****

Harry suddenly became aware that Fawkes had left his knee. The phoenix had fluttered to the floor. It was resting its beautiful head against Harry's injured leg, and thick, pearly tears were falling from its eyes onto the wound left by the spider. The pain vanished. The skin mended. His leg was repaired.

"I will say it again," said Dumbledore as the phoenix rose into the air and resettled itself upon the perch beside the door. "You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you tonight. Harry. You have shown bravery equal to those who died fighting Voldemort at the height of his powers. You have shouldered a grown wizard's burden and found yourself equal to it - and you have now given us all we have a right to expect. You will come with me to the hospital wing. I do not want you returning to the dormitory tonight. A Sleeping Potion, and some peace...Sirius, would you like to stay with him?"

Sirius nodded and stood up. He transformed back into the great black dog and walked with Harry and Dumbledore out of the office, accompanying them down a flight of stairs to the hospital wing.

When Dumbledore pushed open the door. Harry saw Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, Hermione_** and Lexi**_** grouped around a harassed-looking Madam Pomfrey. They appeared to be demanding to know where Harry was and what had happened to him. **

"He has such great friends." Lily said, sending a smile towards Molly and Lexi. Lexi didn't catch it, but probably would've waved it off if she had, whereas Molly just returned it, inclining her head slightly.

**All of them whipped around as Harry, Dumbledore, and the black dog entered, and Mrs. Weasley let out a kind of muffled scream.**

"Harry! Oh Harry!"

She started to hurry toward him, but Dumbledore moved between them.

"Molly," he said, holding up a hand, "please listen to me for a moment. Harry has been through a terrible ordeal tonight. He has just had to relive it for me. What he needs now is sleep, and peace, and quiet. If he would like you all to stay with him," he added, looking around at Ron, Hermione, and Bill too, "you may do so. But I do not want you questioning him until he is ready to answer, and certainly not this evening."

Mrs. Weasley nodded. She was very white. She rounded on Ron, Hermione, Bill_** and Lexi**_** as though they were being noisy, and hissed, "Did you hear? He needs quiet!" **

Many snorts resounded around the room at this and Molly blushed.****

"Headmaster," said Madam Pomfrey, staring at the great black dog that was Sirius, "may I ask what - ?"

"This dog will be remaining with Harry for a while," said Dumbledore simply. "I assure you, he is extremely well trained. 

"Are you sure about that?" Remus asked, trying to sound as serious as possible.

"Yeah, I don't think it's well trained." Regulus added, shoulders shaking with mirth. Sirius scowled at the two of them as others burst into laughter.

**Harry - I will wait while you get into bed."**

Harry felt an inexpressible sense of gratitude to Dumbledore for asking the others not to question him. It wasn't as though he didn't want them there; but the thought of explaining it all over again, the idea of reliving it one more time, was more than he could stand.

"I will be back to see you as soon as I have met with Fudge, Harry," said Dumbledore. "I would like you to remain here tomorrow until I have spoken to the school." He left.

As Madam Pomfrey led Harry to a nearby bed, he caught sight of the real Moody lying motionless in a bed at the far end of the room. His wooden leg and magical eye were lying on the bedside table.

"Is he okay?" Harry asked.

"He'll be fine," said Madam Pomfrey, giving Harry some pajamas and pulling screens around him. He took off his robes, pulled on the pajamas, and got into bed. Ron, Hermione, Bill, Mrs. Weasley, and the black dog came around the screen and settled themselves in chairs on either side of him. Ron and Hermione were looking at him almost cautiously, as though scared of him.

"I'm all right," he told them. "Just tired." 

"Poor him." Narcissa cooed.****

Mrs. Weasley's eyes filled with tears as she smoothed his bed-covers unnecessarily.

Madam Pomfrey, who had bustled off to her office, returned holding a small bottle of some purple potion and a goblet.

"You'll need to drink all of this. Harry," she said. "It's a potion for dreamless sleep." 

"Anyone would need dreamless sleep after that." Severus said.****

Harry took the goblet and drank a few mouthfuls. He felt himself becoming drowsy at once. Everything around him became hazy; the lamps around the hospital wing seemed to be winking at him in a friendly way through the screen around his bed; his body felt as though it was sinking deeper into the warmth of the feather matress. Before he could finish the potion, before he could say another word, his exhaustion had carried him off to sleep.

Harry woke up, so warm, so very sleepy, that he didn't open his eyes, wanting to drop off again. The room was still dimly lit; he was sure it was still nighttime and had a feeling that he couldn't have been asleep very long.

Then he heard whispering around him.

"They'll wake him if they don't shut up!"

"What are they shouting about? Nothing else can have happened, can it?" 

"What's going on?" Lucius asked, automatically turning to Lexi, who shrugged.

"Dunno. I was kicked out the hospital wing."

"Why?" Percy asked, almost not wanting to know. Lexi blushed.

"Uh…Draco?"

"You weren't kicked out. You wanted to hex him, didn't you?"

"He was being an annoying prat!" She defended herself.

"When isn't he?" Fred and George chorused.****

Harry opened his eyes blearily. Someone had removed his glasses. He could see the fuzzy outlines of Mrs. Weasley and Bill close by. Mrs. Weasley was on her feet.

"That's Fudge's voice," she whispered. "And that's Minerva McGonagall's, isn't it? But what are they arguing about?"

Now Harry could hear them too: people shouting and running toward the hospital wing.

"Regrettable, but all the same, Minerva -" Cornelius Fudge was saying loudly.

"You should never have brought it inside the castle!" yelled Professor McGonagall. "When Dumbledore finds out -" 

"What the hell has the Minister done now?" Fred asked, groaning.

"It? What's this 'it'?" James asked, leaning forward in his seat.****

Harry heard the hospital doors burst open. Unnoticed by any of the people around his bed, all of whom were staring at the door as Bill pulled back the screens, Harry sat up and put his glasses back on.

Fudge came striding up the ward. Professors McGonagall and Snape were at his heels.

"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded of Mrs. Weasley.

"He's not here," said Mrs. Weasley angrily. "This is a hospital wing. Minister, don't you think you'd do better to -"

But the door opened, and Dumbledore came sweeping up the ward.

"What has happened?" said Dumbledore sharply, looking from Fudge to Professor McGonagall. "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you - I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch -"

"There is no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore!" she shrieked. "The Minister has seen to that!"

Harry had never seen Professor McGonagall lose control like this. There were angry blotches of color in her cheeks, and a hands were balled into fists; she was trembling with fury.- 

Everyone who had experienced the fury of Minerva McGonagall whistled. She was really angry.****

"When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events," said Snape, in a low voice; he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch -" 

"WHAT?!" Many cries of outrage sounded from around the room.****

"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" McGonagall fumed. "I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but -"

"My dear woman!" roared Fudge, who likewise looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him, "as Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous -"

But Professor McGonagall's voice drowned Fudge's.

"The moment that - that thing entered the room," she screamed, pointing at Fudge, trembling all over, "it swooped down on Crouch and - and -"

Harry felt a chill in his stomach as Professor McGonagall struggled to find words to describe what had happened. He did not need her to finish her sentence. He knew what the dementor must have done. It had administered its fatal kiss to Barty Crouch. It had sucked his soul out through his mouth. He was worse than dead. 

"Oh my God." Regulus held both hands over his mouth, it only just hitting him. Barty Crouch was gone. But then he remembered – this wasn't _his_ Barty. The Barty he sat next to in potions and who would help him with homework. Not the Barty who would help him pull pranks on the Gryffindorks for kicks and relax by the lake with him. This Barty was sick and twisted and Reg hoped and hoped with all his heart that the Barty he knew would never become that.****

"By all accounts, he is no loss!" blustered Fudge. "It seems he has been responsible for several deaths'."

"But he cannot now give testimony, Cornelius," said Dumbledore. He was staring hard at Fudge, as though seeing him plainly for the first time. "He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people."

"Why he killed them? Well, that's no mystery, is it?" blustered Fudge. "He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!" 

"Because he was." Bella rolled her eyes. Fudge really was incompetent.****

"Lord Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "Those peoples deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been restored to his body."

Fudge looked as though someone had just swung a heavy weight into his face. Dazed and blinking, he stared back at Dumbledore as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. He began to sputter, still goggling at Dumbledore.

"You-Know-Who...returned? Preposterous. Come now, Dumbledore..."

"As Minerva and Severus have doubtless told you," said Dumbledore, "we heard Barty Crouch confess. Under the influence of Veritaserum, he told us how he was smuggled out of Azkaban, and how Voldemort - learning of his continued existence from Bertha Jorkins - went to free him from his father and used him to capture Harry. The plan worked, I tell you. Crouch has helped Voldemort to return."

"See here, Dumbledore," said Fudge, and Harry was astonished to see a slight smile dawning on his face, "you - you can't seriously believe that You-Know-Who - back? Come now, come now...certainly, Crouch may have believed himself to be acting upon You-Know-Who's orders - but to take the word of a lunatic like that, Dumbledore..." 

Reg bit his lip at that. The Barty he knew wasn't a lunatic…would working with – no, for – Voldemort really do that to a person? His eyes flickered towards Severus, Bella, Narcissa and Lucius. He hoped that it hadn't had the same effect on them.****

"When Harry touched the Triwizard Cup tonight, he was transported straight to Voldemort," said Dumbledore steadily. "He witnessed Lord Voldemort's rebirth. I will explain it all to you if you will step up to my office."

Dumbledore glanced around at Harry and saw that he was awake, but shook his head and said, "I am afraid I cannot permit you to question Harry tonight." 

"Good." James nodded firmly.****

Fudge's curious smile lingered. He too glanced at Harry, then looked back at Dumbledore, and said, "You are - er - prepared to take Harry's word on this, are you, Dumbledore?"

There was a moment's silence, which was broken by Sirius growling. His hackles were raised, and he was baring his teeth at Fudge. 

"Go Sirius!" Dora cheered. The tension was effectively broken as people began to snicker, Sirius sitting up and preening himself. Remus rolled his eyes fondly at the Black heir.****

"Certainly, I believe Harry," said Dumbledore. His eyes were blazing now. "I heard Crouch's confession, and I heard Harry's account of what happened after he touched the Triwizard Cup; the two stories make sense, they explain everything that has happened since Bertha Jorkins disappeared last summer."

Fudge still had that strange smile on his face. Once again, he glanced at Harry before answering.

"You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who...well..."

Fudge shot Harry another look, and Harry suddenly understood.

"You've been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge," he said quietly. 

"Anyone in their right mind would not believe what Skeeter writes." Narcissa said, rolling her eyes. Bella let out a very unladylike snort at that comment.****

Ron, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill all jumped. None of them had realized that Harry was awake.

Fudge reddened slightly, but a defiant and obstinate look came over his face.

"And if I have?" he said, looking at Dumbledore. "If I have discovered that you've been keeping certain facts about the boy very quiet? A Parselmouth, eh? And having funny turns all over the place -" 

"I'm not alone in wanting to kick him, am I?" Lexi asked dryly, swinging her leg at an imaginary Fudge. Almost everyone shook their heads – they were pretty annoyed by Fudge to.

Percy opened his mouth, naturally wanting to defend his boss, before closing it and shaking his head. Fred and George's jaws dropped.****

"I assume that you are referring to the pains Harry has been experiencing in his scar?" said Dumbledore coolly.

"You admit that he has been having these pains, then?" said Fudge quickly. "Headaches? Nightmares? Possibly - hallucinations?"

"Listen to me, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, taking a step toward Fudge, and once again, he seemed to radiate that indefinable sense of power that Harry had felt after Dumbledore had Stunned young Crouch. "Harry is as sane as you or I. 

"Very encouraging there." Bella muttered. Narcissa, Andromeda and Ted burst into a fit of coughs simultaneously while Dora giggled.

**That scar upon his forehead has not addled his brains. I believe it hurts him when Lord Voldemort is close by, or feeling particularly murderous."**

Fudge had taken half a step back from Dumbledore, but he looked no less stubborn.

"You'll forgive me, Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before..." 

"No one has had a curse scar like Harry's." Filius pointed out, slightly irritated by Fudge.****

"Look, I saw Voldemort come back!" Harry shouted. He tried to get out of bed again, but Mrs. Weasley forced him back. "I saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy -" 

Ucius winced.****

Snape made a sudden movement, but as Harry looked at him, Snape's eyes flew back to Fudge.

"Malfoy was cleared!" said Fudge, visibly affronted. "A very old family - donations to excellent causes -"

"Macnair!" Harry continued.

"Also cleared! Now working for the Ministry!"

"Avery - Nott - Crabbe - Goyle -"

"You are merely repeating the names of those who were acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago!" 

"Because they lied!" Lily said, looking ready to pull her hair out. Petunia seemed worried by this, and held her sister's arms down.

**said Fudge angrily. "You could have found those names in old reports of the trials! For heavens sake, Dumbledore - the boy was full of some crackpot story at the end of last year too - his tales are getting taller, and you're still swallowing them - the boy can talk to snakes. Dumbledore, and you still think he's trustworthy?" **

Growls echoed around the room, the most feral sounding from the two Marauders who looked ready to transform into a wolf or dog and tear the Minister apart.****

"You fool!" Professor McGonagall cried. "Cedric Diggory! Mr. Crouch! These deaths were not the random work of a lunatic!"

"I see no evidence to the contrary!" shouted Fudge, now matching her anger, his face purpling. "It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!"

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had always thought of Fudge as a kindly figure, a little blustering, a little pompous, but essentially good-natured. 

"I have to admit I agreed with that." Lexi winced slightly at that confession. "He was a bit brash, but nice enough."

**But now a short, angry wizard stood before him, refusing, point-blank, to accept the prospect of disruption in his comfortable and ordered world - to believe that Voldemort could have risen.**

"Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore repeated. "If you accept that fact straightaway, Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove Azkaban from the control of the dementors -"

"Preposterous!" shouted Fudge again. "Remove the dementors? I'd be kicked out of office for suggesting it! Half of us only feel safe in our beds at night because we know the dementors are standing guard at Azkaban!" 

Sirius gripped the edge of the sofa he was sitting on, teeth gritted. He wished that Fudge would get rid of the dementors, but he was a bit stupid. No, scratch that – a lot stupid.****

"The rest of us sleep less soundly in our beds, Cornelius, knowing that you have put Lord Voldemort's most dangerous supporters in the care of creatures who will join him the instant he asks them!" said Dumbledore. "They will not remain loyal to you, Fudge! Voldemort can offer them much more scope for their powers and their pleasures than you can! With the dementors behind him, and his old supporters returned to him, you will be hard-pressed to stop him regaining the sort of power he had thirteen years ago!" 

Many shuddered at that thought.****

Fudge was opening and closing his mouth as though no words could express his outrage.

"The second step you must take - and at once," Dumbledore pressed on, "is to send envoys to the giants."

"Envoys to the giants?" Fudge shrieked, finding his tongue again. "What madness is this?"

"Extend them the hand of friendship, now, before it is too late," said Dumbledore, "or Voldemort will persuade them, as he did before, that he alone among wizards will give them their rights and their freedom!" 

"That, I have to agree with." Lexi braced herself as the yells and cries of outrage echoed around the room. Percy wrapped an arm around her, Tom wrapping short arms around her middle. "Equal rights, freedom. Voldemort doesn't have the right way about getting it, but yes, they deserve freedom. Like many magical creatures do." The yells quietened at this, though suspicious murmurs could be heard from those who did not have full trust in the Slytherin.****

"You - you cannot be serious!" Fudge gasped, shaking his head and retreating further from Dumbledore. "If the magical community got wind that I had approached the giants - people hate them, Dumbledore - end of my career -"

"You are blinded," said Dumbledore, his voice rising now, the aura of power around him palpable, his eyes blazing once more, "by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! Your dementor has just destroyed the last remaining member of a pure-blood family as old as any - and see what that man chose to make of his life! I tell you now- take the steps I have suggested, and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act - and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!"

"Insane," whispered Fudge, still backing away. "Mad..."

And then there was silence. Madam Pomfrey was standing frozen at the foot of Harry's bed, her hands over her mouth. was still standing over Harry, her hand on his shoulder to prevent him from rising. Bill, Ron, and Hermione were staring at Fudge.

"If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, "we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit. And I - I shall act as I see fit." 

Dorea rose both hands to stifle her gasp of shock. Dumbledore, parting ways with the Ministry? It shouldn't have come to this!****

Dumbledore's voice carried no hint of a threat; it sounded like a mere statement, but Fudge bristled as though Dumbledore were advancing upon him with a wand.

"Now, see here, Dumbledore," he said, waving a threatening finger. "I've given you free rein, always. I've had a lot of respect for you. I might not have agreed with some of your decisions, but I've kept quiet. There aren't many who'd have let you hire werewolves, 

"Always known as 'werewolves'." Sirius muttered. Remus sighed, resting his head on Sirius' shoulder.

**or keep Hagrid, **

"You do not merely 'keep' Hagrid." Charlus' eyes narrowed. "He's a human – a half-giant, yes – but a human with thoughts and feelings all the same."

**or decide what to teach your students without reference to the Ministry. But if you're going to work against me -"**

"The only one against whom I intend to work," said Dumbledore, "is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side." 

John bit his lip, before nodding. Yes, that did make sense.****

It seemed Fudge could think of no answer to this. He rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and spun his bowler hat in his hands. Finally, he said, with a hint of a plea in his voice, "He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be..." 

"He's worried." Eileen realised. "He doesn't want to have to worry about a Dark Lord, atop of all the rest of the wizarding world. He wasn't prepared for this."

"But he should accept the truth – there will be help provided for him if he does." Minerva said.****

Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went. He stuck out his forearm and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled.

"There," said Snape harshly. "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold." 

"Ah, we have two of the Death Eater's he mentioned – Karkaroff is the cowardly one." Lily murmured, but her worried eyes flickered to Severus, who was sitting, stock still, his back straight. "Sev…the one he believes to have left him forever…"

"He will be killed, of course." Severus murmured the quote and everyone stared at the boy, who was determined not to show fear at the fact he may be killed by the Dark Lord.****

Fudge stepped back from Snape too. He was shaking his head. He did not seem to have taken in a word Snape had said. He stared, apparently repelled by the ugly mark on Snape's arm, then looked up at Dumbledore and whispered, "I don't know what you and your staff are playing at, Dumbledore, but I have heard enough. I have no more to add. I will be in touch with you tomorrow, Dumbledore, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the Ministry."

He had almost reached the door when he paused. He turned around, strode back down the dormitory, and stopped at Harry's bed.

"Your winnings," he said shortly, taking a large bag of gold out of his pocket and dropping it onto Harry's bedside table. "One thousand Galleons. There should have been a presentation ceremony, but under the circumstances..." 

"He obviously won't want them." Pomona said. "He's just seen a friend die, for Merlin's sake!"****

He crammed his bowler hat onto his head and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The moment he had disappeared, Dumbledore turned to look at the group around Harry's bed.

"There is work to be done," he said. "Molly...am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?" 

"Of course." The two Weasley's chorused, eyes determined.****

"Of course you can," said Mrs. Weasley. She was white to the lips, but she looked resolute. "We know what Fudge is. It's Arthur's fondness for Muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride." 

"He does not!" Many of the Weasley's friends defended Arthur stubbornly, drowning out mumbles of 'well, it's true' from the older Blacks.****

"Then I need to send a message to Arthur," said Dumbledore. "All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as short-sighted as Cornelius."

"I'll go to Dad," said Bill, standing up. "I'll go now."

"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. If Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry -"

"Leave it to me," said Bill. 

"He better be careful." Molly worried her bottom lip between her teeth.****

He clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder, kissed his mother on the cheek, pulled on his cloak, and strode quickly from the room.

"Minerva," said Dumbledore, turning to Professor McGonagall, "I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. Also - if she will consent to come - Madame Maxime." 

"Envoys to the giants." Charlus said. "This is dangerous, Albus. Blatantly disregarding the Ministry."

"And the right thing to do." The wizened headmaster said. Charlus nodded.

"I never doubted it."****

Professor McGonagall nodded and left without a word.

"Poppy," Dumbledore said to Madam Pomfrey, "would you be very kind and go down to Professor Moody's office, where I think you will find a house-elf called Winky in considerable distress? Do what you can for her, and take her back to the kitchens. I think Dobby will look after her for us."

"Very - very well," said Madam Pomfrey, looking startled, and she too left.

Dumbledore made sure that the door was closed, and that Madam Pomfrey's footsteps had died away, before he spoke again.

"And now," he said, "it is time for two of our number to recognize each other for what they are. Sirius...if you could resume your usual form."

The great black dog looked up at Dumbledore, then, in an instant, turned back into a man.

Mrs. Weasley screamed and leapt back from the bed.

"Sirius Black!" she shrieked, pointing at him.

"Mum, shut up!" Ron yelled. "It's okay!" 

The tension was dispersed, chuckles coming from Molly's reaction and Ron's response.

"I think we could grow to like him." Fabian and Gideon said in unison, laughing.****

Snape had not yelled or jumped backward, but the look on his face was one of mingled fury and horror.

"Him!" he snarled, staring at Sirius, whose face showed equal dislike. "What is he doing here?"

"He is here at my invitation," said Dumbledore, looking between them, "as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other."

Harry thought Dumbledore was asking for a near miracle. Sirius and Snape were eyeing each other with the utmost loathing. 

The two looked at each other from across the room, before shrugging. The teachers, who knew of their rivalry, looked shocked, aside from Dumbledore. Of course Dumbledore didn't look shocked – he knew just about everything.

"We're having a truce." Sirius explained, mirth shining in his eyes at the shocked looks.

"Maybe temporary, maybe permanent – we'll see." Severus added.****

"I will settle, in the short term," said Dumbledore, with a bite of impatience in his voice, "for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth do not stand united, there is no hope for any us.

Very slowly - but still glaring at each other as though each wished the other nothing but ill - Sirius and Snape moved toward each other and shook hands. They let go extremely quickly. 

Lily rolled her eyes in exasperation, Remus mimicking it.****

"That will do to be going on with," said Dumbledore, stepping between them once more. "Now I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher - the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's

"Woo, I'm staying with Moony!" Sirius sounded downright thrilled at the prospect.

"Oh, joy." Remus said monotonously, earning sniggers from the teenagers and a mock hurt look from Sirius.

**for a while; I will contact you there."**

"But -" said Harry.

He wanted Sirius to stay. He did not want to have to say goodbye again so quickly.

"You'll see me very soon. Harry," said Sirius, turning to him. "I promise you. But I must do what I can, you understand, don't you?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "Yeah...of course I do."

Sirius grasped his hand briefly, nodded to Dumbledore, transformed again into the black dog, and ran the length of the room to the door, whose handle he turned with a paw. Then he was gone.

"Severus," said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, "you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready...if you are prepared..."

"I am," said Snape.

He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold, black eyes glittered strangely. 

"A spy." Eileen realised, placing a hand on her son's shoulder. "You want him to spy on Voldemort." Dumbledore merely inclined his head, confirming it. Eileen's grip on Severus' shoulder tightened fractionally.****

"Then good luck," said Dumbledore, and he watched, with a trace of apprehension on his face, as Snape swept wordlessly after Sirius.

It was several minutes before Dumbledore spoke again.

"I must go downstairs," he said finally. "I must see the Diggory's. Harry - take the rest of your potion. I will see all of you later."

Harry slumped back against his pillows as Dumbledore disappeared. Hermione, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley were all looking at him. None of them spoke for a very long time.

"You've got to take the rest of your potion. Harry," Mrs. Weasley said at last. Her hand nudged the sack of gold on his bedside cabinet as she reached for the bottle and the goblet. "You have a good long sleep. Try and think about something else for a while...think about what you're going to buy with your winnings!" 

Molly winced at that as many disbelieving gazes came her way.

"That wasn't the best thing to say, was it?" She said.

"Afraid not, dear." Arthur sighed.****

"I don't want that gold," said Harry in an expressionless voice. "You have it. Anyone can have it. I shouldn't have won it. It should've been Cedric's."

The thing against which he had been fighting on and off ever since he had come out of the maze was threatening to overpower him. He could feel a burning, prickling feeling in the inner corners of his eyes. He blinked and stared up at the ceiling. 

"Let it go, Harry." James murmured. "Just let it go and cry."****

"It wasn't your fault. Harry," Mrs. Weasley whispered.

"I told him to take the cup with me," said Harry.

Now the burning feeling was in his throat too. He wished Ron would look away.

Mrs. Weasley set the potion down on the bedside cabinet, bent down, and put her arms around Harry. He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother. 

Tears began to form in Molly's eyes…poor Harry had never been hugged like that before? She was determined that, this time around, he would be loved properly, be it by Lily, or herself or – taking a look at Petunia's guilt ridden face – his aunt.

**The full weight of everything he had seen that night seemed to fall in upon him as Mrs. Weasley held him to her. His mother's face, his father's voice, the sight of Cedric, dead on the ground all started spinning in his head until he could hardly bear it, until he was screwing up his face against the howl of misery fighting to get out of him.**

There was a loud slamming noise, and Mrs. Weasley and Harry broke apart. Hermione was standing by the window. She was holding something tight in her hand. 

Hermione just ruined the moment!" Fred said, sighing.****

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Your potion, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley quickly, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.

Harry drank it in one gulp. The effect was instantaneous. Heavy, irresistible waves of dreamless sleep broke over him; he fell back onto his pillows and thought no more.

"That's it." Bella said, voice hoarse.

"Shall we take a break?" Serena said.

"That would be best, I think." Percy said, rising and stretching. "There was a lot to digest in that chapter." Plus, he wanted to put off the revealing of his betrayal – it would hurt to reread that, to see disappointment in his family, to have Lexi not look at him anymore… "I'm going to make some tea."

"I'll come with you – Tom?" Lexi stood up and held her hand out to Tom, who took it willingly. He didn't really want to stay in the room – Lexi was safe, she wouldn't hurt him. The others might, though. The three left the room, though Percy didn't really want the red head and the younger boy with him.

A spattering of talking broke out amongst those gathered, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

XoOoX

FINALLY! Oh my gosh, this chapter was long. And I had exams…so many exams…but I had reviews. And ways to improve Lexi (which I have…or at least, I think I have…). And encouragement and favourites and followers and I'm so very happy and inspiration came back and I just sat down and wrote. And finally. This 88-page long chapter is complete. At last.

My hands are dead now. So I'm going to attempt to type up the next chapter while you indulge yourself with this. I have science to revise for (ugh) so don't expect much any time soon.

Revies, favourites, follows and just reading this are all appreciated! ~Jazz xx


	11. OotP Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place

When they reached the kitchen, Percy did as he said he was going to. With a flick of his wand, the kettle was boiling and a mug was placed at the side of the kettle, teabag in and all.

"Perce…" The Weasley refused to turn around, head hung low as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Hey, turn around." Hesitantly, he did so, head still hung down.

"I don't think I can…" He gulped, fumbling over words. He internally cursed – he never found it difficult to find words before. "I can't go in there."

Two fingers were under his chin and his head was raised to meet two, pity filled eyes, but they were full of so much more than just pity. They were the eyes he saw back in his fourth year, full of wonder as he invited the owner of them to sit with him and the twins at Christmas. The ones which had sparkled with mirth when he'd nearly broken his tooth on a sickle in his fifth year and were full of joy when he'd danced at the Yule Ball.

"I'll be there with you." Lexi said, the hand not holding his head up on his shoulder. "I'm not going to turn on you, promise." There was a tug on his robes and Percy glanced down to see Tom, arms wrapped around his middle.

"I don't know what's going to happen, but I like you. You're nice." He said. "I won't hate you."

Lexi let out a laugh at that, Percy managing to smile. He ruffled Tom's hair, causing the boy to pout, before hugging Lexi, who stiffened slightly, before returning it.

"Thank you." He murmured into her hair.

"No problem." She returned, burying her head into the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent which was purely Percy.

"Hurry up, guys! It doesn't take that long to make tea!"

"Or are you up to something else?"

Percy groaned and Lexi shook with silent laughter at Gideon and Fabian's comments, along with the fake sick sounds (courtesy of James, Sirius and probably Fred and George) from the room. Tom let out a giggle, before running back into the room as Percy reached out to attempt to mess up his hair.

"C'mon. We should head back in." Lexi said, reaching over and taking the teabag out of the too strong tea. She took a sip of it, before pulling a disgusted face. "Urgh, don't even try to drink that – I don't think magic can salvage it."

"You've never been good at household spells." Percy teased, before jumping out of the way of Lexi's hand, which was aiming to slap him upside the head. He laughed at the unamused look she gave him, before heading back into the main room, the red head hot on his heels.

The two retook their seats, ignoring the catcalls from Fabian and Gideon. The two were dealt stinging hexes, courtesy of Molly. It was Fred who took the book this time and turned it to the correct page, before beginning to read.

**Number twelve, Grimmauld Place  
**

**'What's the Order of the-?' Harry began.**

'Not here, boy!' snarled Moody. 'Wait till we're inside!'

"Paranoid as ever." George said, shaking his head.****

He pulled the piece of parchment out of Harry's hand and set fire to it with his wand-tip. As the message curled into flames and floated to the ground, Harry looked around at the houses again. They were standing outside number eleven; he looked to the left and saw number ten; to the right, however, was number thirteen.

'But where's-?'

"It's under the Fidelius, right?" Regulus said. "You're gonna have to think about the address and it'll appear."****

'Think about what you've just memorised,' said Lupin quietly.

Harry thought, and no sooner had he reached the part about number twelve, Grimmauld Place, than a battered door emerged out of nowhere between numbers eleven and thirteen, followed swiftly by dirty walls and grimy windows. It was as though an extra house had inflated, pushing those on either side out of its way. Harry gaped at it. The stereo in number eleven thudded on. Apparently the Muggles inside hadn't felt anything.

"The wonders of magic." Narcissa said, grinning slightly.****

'Come on, hurry,' growled Moody, prodding Harry in the back.

Harry walked up the worn stone steps, staring at the newly materialised door. Its black paint was shabby and scratched. The silver doorknocker was in the form of a twisted serpent. There was no keyhole or letterbox.

"No inhabitants for a while." Abraxas said. It was odd – he had sat in the house yesterday and it was well cared for.

"Siri's been in jail." Regulus said. "And I'm guessing I'd moved out or something." Lexi winced slightly, no one really noticing.****

Lupin, pulled out his wand and tapped the door once. Harry heard many loud, metallic clicks and what sounded like the clatter of a chain. The door creaked open.

'Get in quick, Harry,' Lupin whispered, 'but don't go far inside and don't touch anything.'

Harry stepped over the threshold into the almost total darkness of the hall. He could smell damp, dust, and a sweetish, rotting smell; the place had the feeling of a derelict building. He looked over his shoulder and saw the others filing in behind him, Lupin and Tonks carrying his trunk and Hedwig's cage. Moody was standing on the top step releasing the balls of light the Put-Outer had stolen from the streetlamps; they flew back to their bulbs and the square glowed momentarily with orange light before Moody limped inside and closed the front door, so that the darkness in the hall became complete.

'Here-'

He rapped Harry hard over the head with his wand; Harry felt as though something hot was trickling down his back this time and knew that the Disillusionment Charm must have lifted.

'Now stay still, everyone, while I give us a bit of light in here,' Moody whispered.

The others' hushed voices were giving Harry an odd feeling of foreboding; it was as though they had just entered the house of a dying person. 

"Why is everyone whispering?" Lucius asked. Fred shivered.

"You do not want to know."

**He heard a soft hissing noise and then old-fashioned gas lamps sputtered into life all along the walls, casting a flickering insubstantial light over the peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet of a long, gloomy hallway, where a cobwebby chandelier glimmered overhead and age-blackened portraits hung crooked on the walls. Harry heard something scuttling behind the skirting board. Both the chandelier and the candelabra on a rickety table nearby were shaped like serpents.**

James whistled.

"That sounds like a dark house."

"It is a dark house." Sirius whispered. Regulus' shoulders were shaking with laughter – Sirius really wasn't good at whispering. Walburga looked ready to explode, whereas Orion was merely shaking his head at his eldest son.****

There were hurried footsteps and Ron's mother, Mrs. Weasley, emerged from a door at the far end of the hall. She was beaming in welcome as she hurried towards them, though Harry noticed that she was rather thinner and paler than she had been last time he had seen her.

Percy bit his lip at that. Lexi immediately placed a hand on his arm, drawing circles with her thumb.****

'Oh, Harry, it's lovely to see you!' she whispered, pulling him into a rib-cracking hug before holding him at arm's length and examining him critically. 'You're looking peaky; you need feeding up, but you'll have to wait a bit for dinner, I'm afraid...'

She turned to the gang of wizards behind him and whispered urgently, 'He's just arrived, the meeting's started.'

The wizards behind Harry all made noises of interest and excitement and began filing past him towards the door through which Mrs. Weasley had just come. Harry made to follow Lupin, but Mrs. Weasley held him back.

'No, Harry, the meeting's only for members of the Order. Ron and Hermione are upstairs, you can wait with them until the meetings over, then we'll have dinner. And keep your voice down in the hall,' she added in an urgent whisper.

'Why?'

'I don't want anything to wake up.'

"That's just creepy." Serena shuddered for effect.

"What is in that house?" Michael pondered.****

'What d'you-?'

'I'll explain later, I've got to hurry, I'm supposed to be at the meeting- I'll just show you where you're sleeping.'

Pressing her finger to her lips, she led him on tiptoe past a pair of long, moth-eaten curtains, behind which Harry supposed there must be another door, 

_Well, not exactly, _Lexi thought dryly.

**and after skirting a large umbrella stand that looked as though it had been made from a severed troll's leg, they started up the dark staircase, passing a row of shrunken heads mounted on plaques on the wall. A closer look showed Harry that the heads belonged to house-elves. **

Petunia looked like she was about to throw up. Again.

**All of them had the same rather snout-like nose.**

Harry's bewilderment deepened with every step he took. What on earth were they doing in a house that looked as though it belonged to the Darkest of wizards?

"Because it do-oes." Sirius couldn't help sing. His mother's eyes looked ready to pop out of her skull, Pollux looked at Sirius in disapproval, Abraxas sighed and Orion ignored it. Meanwhile, Regulus was turning red, trying to hide his laughter, the Black sisters were giggling at the comment and Lucius smiled slightly, trying hard to hide his amusement.****

'Mrs. Weasley, why-?'

'Ron and Hermione will explain everything, dear, I've really got to dash,' Mrs. Weasley whispered distractedly. 'There'-they had reached the second landing-'you're the door on the right. I'll call you when it's over.'

And she hurried off downstairs again.

Harry crossed the dingy landing, turned the bedroom doorknob, which was shaped like a serpent's head, and opened the door.

He caught a brief glimpse of a gloomy high-ceilinged, twin-bedded room; then there was a loud twittering noise, followed by an even louder shriek, and his vision was completely obscured by a large quantity of very bushy hair—

"Hermione!" Fred and George crowed.

**Hermione had thrown herself on to him in a hug that nearly knocked him flat, while Ron's tiny owl, Pigwidgeon, zoomed excitedly round and round their heads.**

'HARRY! Ron, he's here, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless-but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got things to tell us-the dementors! When we heard-and that Ministry hearing-it's just outrageous, I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's provision in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations-'

Fred drew a deep breath, almost gasping for air. "Blimey, doesn't she need to breathe?"****

'Let him breathe, Hermione,' said Ron, grinning as he closed the door behind Harry. He seemed to have grown several more inches during their month apart, making him taller and more gangly looking than ever, though the long nose, bright red hair and freckles were the same.

"Flattering." Gideon snickered.****

Still beaming, Hermione let go of Harry, but before she could say another word there was a soft whooshing sound and something white soared from the top of a dark wardrobe and landed gently on Harry's shoulder.

'Hedwig!'

The snowy owl clicked her beak and nibbled his ear affectionately as Harry stroked her feathers.

'She's been in a right state,' said Ron. 'Pecked us half to death when she brought your last letters, look at this-'

He showed Harry the index finger of his right hand, which sported a half-healed but clearly deep cut.

'Oh, yeah,' Harry said. 'Sorry about that, but I wanted answers, you know...'

'We wanted to give them to you, mate,' said Ron. 'Hermione was going spare, she kept saying you'd do something stupid if you were stuck all on your own without news, but Dumbledore made us-'

"But Harry always does something stupid." George said, rolling his eyes. "It's obvious!" Harry pouted at George.

"I don't always do stupid things!"

"You will do!"

"George, you are arguing with a five year old."

"Shut up, Percy!"****

'-swear not to tell me,' said Harry. 'Yeah, Hermione's already said.'

The warm glow that had flared inside him at the sight of his two best friends was extinguished as something icy flooded the pit of his stomach. All of a sudden-after yearning to see them for a solid month-he felt he would rather Ron and Hermione left him alone.

"Oooooh." Bella leaned forward, fingers tapping the side of her chair in a fast rhythm.****

There was a strained silence in which Harry stroked Hedwig automatically, not looking at either of the others.

'He seemed to think it was best,' said Hermione rather breathlessly. 'Dumbledore, I mean.'

'Right,' said Harry. He noticed that her hands, too, bore the marks of Hedwig's beak and found that he was not at all sorry.

John winced slightly. Ok, Harry was mad. Really, really mad.****

'I think he thought you were safest with the Muggles-' Ron began.

'Yeah?' said Harry, raising his eyebrows. 'Have either of you been attacked by dementors this summer?'

'Well, no-but that's why he's had people from the Order of the Phoenix tailing you all the time-'

Harry felt a great jolt in his guts as though he had just missed a step going downstairs. So everyone had known he was being followed, except him.

"Ok, that just isn't nice." Godric frowned. "Shouldn't this Order know that Harry isn't exactly…treated well at home?" Lexi shrugged, along with Fred and George.

"We aren't members." She said.

"How are we s'posed to know?" George added.****

'Didn't work that well, though, did it?' said Harry, doing his utmost to keep his voice even. 'Had to look after myself after all, didn't I?'

'He was so angry,' said Hermione, in an almost awestruck voice. 'Dumbledore. We saw him. When he found out Mundungus had left before his shift had ended. He was scary.'

'Well, I'm glad he left,' Harry said coldly. 'If he hadn't, I wouldn't have done magic and Dumbledore would probably have left me at Privet Drive all summer.'

"Probably." Fred admitted. The light in Dumbledore's eyes went out. He'd made a mistake, that much was obvious.****

'Aren't you ... aren't you worried about the Ministry of Magic hearing?' said Hermione quietly.

'No,' Harry lied defiantly. He walked away from them, looking around, with Hedwig nestled contentedly on his shoulder, but this room was not likely to raise his spirits. It was dank and dark. A blank stretch of canvas in an ornate picture frame was all that relieved the bareness of the peeling walls, and as Harry passed it he thought he heard someone who was lurking out of sight snigger.

'So why's Dumbledore been so keen to keep me in the dark?' Harry asked, still trying hard to keep his voice casual. 'Did you-er-bother to ask him at all?'

He glanced up just in time to see them exchanging a look that told him he was behaving just as they had feared he would. It did nothing to improve his temper.

"Of course not." Rose sighed.****

'We told Dumbledore we wanted to tell you what was going on,' said Ron. 'We did, mate. But he's really busy now, we've only seen him twice since we came here and he didn't have much time, he just made us swear not to tell you important stuff when we wrote, he said the owls might be intercepted-'

'He could still've kept me informed if he'd wanted to,' Harry said shortly. 'You're not telling me he doesn't know ways to send messages without owls.'

Hermione glanced at Ron and then said, 'I thought that, too. But he didn't want you to know anything.'

'Maybe he thinks I can't be trusted,' said Harry, watching their expressions.

"Oh, Harry!" Serena sighed, looking at the young boy who was frowning slightly.****

'Don't be thick,' said Ron, looking highly disconcerted.

'Or that I can't take care of myself.'

'Of course he doesn't think that!' said Hermione anxiously.

'So how come I have to stay at the Dursleys' while you two get to join in everything that's going on here?' said Harry, the words tumbling over one another in a rush, his voice growing louder with every word. 'How come you two are allowed to know everything that's going on?'

'We're not!' Ron interrupted. 'Mum won't let us near the meetings, she says we're too young-'

But before he knew it, Harry was shouting.

'SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS' FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU TWO'VE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT- WHO SAVED THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO SAVED BOTH YOUR SKINS FROM THE DEMENTORS?'

"FRED!" Many people in the room shouted as the twin yelled that at the top of his lungs. George and Lexi were looking thoughtful, though.

"Might've been louder than that." The Slytherin mused.

"Probably was." George added. Fred glared.

"Well, sorry I don't have the ability to reach the same decibel Harry does."

"He gets that from you." Severus stated, turning to Lily who was almost as red as her hair.

"Shut up, Sev."****

Every bitter and resentful thought Harry had had in the past month was pouring out of him: his frustration at the lack of news, the hurt that they had all been together without him, his fury at being followed and not told about it: All the feelings he was half-ashamed of finally burst their boundaries. Hedwig took fright at the noise and soared off to the top of the wardrobe again; Pigwidgeon twittered in alarm and zoomed even faster around their heads.

'WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME!'

Ron was standing there with his mouth half-open, clearly stunned and at a loss for anything to say, whilst Hermione looked on the verge of tears.

'BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?'

'Harry, we wanted to tell you, we really did-' Hermione began.

'CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR-'

'Well, he did-'

'FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON-'

'We wanted to-

'I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER-'

'No, honest-'

'Harry, we're really sorry!' said Hermione desperately, her eyes now sparkling with tears. 'You're absolutely right, Harry- I'd be furious if it was me!'

"Poor Hermione." Dorea said, still looking shocked that Harry could do that when he was angry. The Harry currently in the room was hiding his red face in Sirius' robes.****

Harry glared at her, still breathing deeply, then turned away from them again, pacing up and down. Hedwig hooted glumly from the top of the wardrobe. There was a long pause, broken only by the mournful creak of the floorboards below Harry's feet.

'What is this place, anyway?' he shot at Ron and Hermione.

'Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix,' said Ron at once.

'Is anyone going to bother telling me what the Order of the Phoenix-?'

'It's a secret society,' 

"Not anymore." Minerva muttered, shaking her head.

**said Hermione quickly. 'Dumbledore's in charge, he founded it. It's the people who fought against You-Know-Who last time.'**

'Who's in it?' said Harry coming to a halt with his hands in his pockets.

'Quite a few people-'

'We've met about twenty of them,' said Ron, 'but we think there are more.'

Harry glared at them.

'Well?' he demanded, looking from one to the other.

'Er,' said Ron. 'Well what?'

'Voldemort!' said Harry furiously, and both Ron and Hermione winced. 'What's happening? What's he up to? Where is he? What are we doing to stop him?'

'We've told you, the Order don't let us in on their meetings,' said Hermione nervously. 'So we don't know the details-but we've got a general idea-' she added hastily, seeing the look on Harry's face.

'Fred and George have invented Extendable Ears, see,' said Ron. 'They're really useful.'

"Extendable Ears?" Sirius' attention was turned fully on Fred and George, who merely winked at the Marauder.****

'Extendable-?'

'Ears, yeah. Only we've had to stop using them lately because Mum found out and went berserk. Fred and George had to hide them all to stop Mum binning them. But we got a good bit of use out of them before Mum realised what was going on. We know some of the Order are following known Death Eaters, keeping tabs on them, you know-'

'-some of them are working on recruiting more people to the Order-' said Hermione.

'-and some of them are standing guard over something,' said Ron. 'They're always talking about guard duty.'

'Couldn't have been me, could it?' said Harry sarcastically.

'Oh, yeah,' said Ron, with a look of dawning comprehension.

"Sometimes…" Percy shook his head fondly.****

Harry snorted. He walked around the room again, looking anywhere but at Ron and Hermione. 'So, what have you two been doing, if you're not allowed in meetings?' he demanded. 'You said you'd been busy.'

'We have,' said Hermione quickly. 'We've been decontaminating this house, it's been empty for ages and stuff's been breeding in here. We've managed to clean out the kitchen, most of the bedrooms and I think we're doing the drawing room tomo-AARGH!'

With two loud cracks, Fred and George, Ron's elder twin brothers, had materialised out of thin air in the middle of the room. 

"Apparation licenses?" Charlus asked, amused. The twins beamed.

"Yup!"

**Pigwidgeon twittered more wildly than ever and zoomed off to join Hedwig on top of the wardrobe.**

'Stop doing that!' Hermione said weakly to the twins, who were as vividly red-haired as Ron, though stockier and slightly shorter.

'Hello, Harry' said George, beaming at him. 'We thought we heard your dulcet tones.'

'You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out,' said Fred, also beaming. 'There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you.'

Some people sniggered at that.****

'You two passed your Apparation tests, then?' asked Harry grumpily.

'With distinction,' said Fred, who was holding what looked like a piece of very long, flesh-coloured string.

'It would have taken you about thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs,' said Ron.

'Time is Galleons, little brother,' said Fred. 'Anyway, Harry, you're interfering with reception. Extendable Ears,' he added in response to Harry's raised eyebrows, and held up the string which Harry now saw was trailing out on to the landing. 'We're trying to hear what's going on downstairs.'

'You want to be careful,' said Ron, staring at the Ear, 'if Mum sees one of them again...'

"Let me guess…" At that, Bella drew a finger across her throat. The twins sighed in unison, nodding. Molly looked rather sheepish.****

'It's worth the risk, that's a major meeting they're having,' said Fred.

The door opened and a long mane of red hair appeared_** along with the distinguishable messy hair of Lexi**_**.**

"Thanks." Lexi muttered, sighing.

"Why are you there, anyway?" Michael asked. "I understand the Weasley's, Harry and Hermione, but why you?"

"I prefer to stay away from home during the holidays." Lexi said. "And I knew about Sirius and stuff, so Lu – I mean, Remus, offered me a room. I accepted. And BAM there I was!"

Percy rolled his eyes fondly at the Slytherin and some of the younger children giggled as she clapped her hands, emphasising the 'bam'.****

'Oh, hello, Harry!' said Ron's younger sister, Ginny, brightly. 'I thought I heard your voice.'

"_**Turn it down a notch next time, though." Lexi added, eyes twinkling with amusement. "Some of us are trying to do homework."**_

"You actually do the homework? During the summer?" James looked shocked. He was oblivious to the glares from his parents and the disapproving looks from the teachers.

"_**Or be brooding Slytherins." Ginny retorted, elbowing the pouting Lexi in the side.**_** Turning to Fred and George, she said, 'It's no-go with the Extendable Ears, she's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door.'**

'How d'you know?' said George, looking crestfallen.

'Tonks told me how to find out,' said Ginny. 'You just chuck stuff at the door and if it can't make contact the door's been Imperturbed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs and they just soar away from it, 

"Cool, must make a note of that somewhere…" James trailed off at the looks he was getting from his parents and the teachers. "I mean, not like I didn't know that already, I mean honestly…"

"James. You're digging your hole even deeper." Lily sighed.

**so there's no way the Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gap.'**

Fred heaved a deep sigh.

'Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to.'

'Snape!' said Harry quickly. 'Is he here?'

"A member of the Order." Severus rolled his eyes.****

'Yeah,' said George, carefully closing the door and sitting down on one of the beds; Fred and Ginny followed. 'Giving a report. Top secret.'

'Git,' said Fred idly.

Some snorts and snickers echoed around the room. Sev looked rather indignant at that.

"I am not a git!"

"Afraid to point it out Sev," Reg piped up. "But you kinda are."

Guffaws followed that comment as the older Slytherin pouted at the Black.

"_**That is my head of house you're talking about." Lexi replied smoothly, rolling her eyes.**_****

'He's on our side now,' said Hermione reprovingly.

Ron snorted. 'Doesn't stop him being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us...'

'Bill doesn't like him, either,' said Ginny, as though that settled the matter. 

"And that it does." George said, grinning, impervious to Snape's glare. The elder ones glare was a lot scarier.****

Harry was not sure his anger had abated yet; but his thirst for information was now overcoming his urge to keep shouting. He sank on to the bed opposite the others.

'Is Bill here?' he asked. 'I thought he was working in Egypt?'

Bill perked up slightly. He always wanted to go abroad.****

'He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order,' said Fred. 'He says he misses the tombs, but,' he smirked, 'there are compensations...'

'What d'you mean?'

'Remember old Fleur Delacour?' said George. 'She's got a job at Gringotts to eemprove 'er Eeenglish-'

Some people laughed at that, mostly the teenage boys. Percy let out a cough.****

'-and Bill's been giving her a lot of private lessons,' sniggered Fred. _**Lexi burst into a fit of coughs at that statement.**_

As she did again. Others just laughed openly.****

'Charlie's in the Order, too,' said George, 'but he's still in Romania. Dumbledore wants as many foreign wizards brought in as possible, so Charlie's trying to make contacts on his days off.'

'Couldn't Percy do that?' 

Percy winced violently as curious eyes turned to look at him.

"Oh." Molly said, holding a hand to her mouth, remembering her earlier conversation with Percy – he did something he regretted. Was this it? Was it about to be revealed?

Percy looked at his lap and Lexi rested her head on his shoulder.

**Harry asked. The last he had heard, the third Weasley brother was working in the Department of International Magical Co-operation at the Ministry of Magic.**

At Harry's words, all the Weasleys and Hermione exchanged darkly significant looks. _**Lexi froze up, immediately turning silent.**_

"_**I'll be in my room." She said, voice cracking, before escaping, Harry's eyes following her in confusion.**_

Percy slid his hand into Lexi's, squeezing it.

"Sorry." He murmured.

"I forgave you ages ago." Was her murmured reply.****

'Whatever you do, don't mention Percy in front of Mum and Dad,' Ron told Harry in a tense voice. _**"Or Lexi, for that matter."**_****

'Why not?'

'Because every time Percy's name's mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he's holding and Mum starts crying,_** and Lex looks like she's about to break,**_**' Fred said.**

Arthur's hands tightened into fists, knuckles turning white, Molly bit her lip and Lexi flinched violently. God, was it really that obvious that the absence of the third Weasley boy affected her that much?****

'It's been awful,' said Ginny sadly.

'I think we're well shot of him,' said George, with an uncharacteristically ugly look on his face.

'What's happened?' Harry said.

'Percy and Dad had a row,' said Fred. 'I've never seen Dad row with anyone like that. It's normally Mum who shouts...'

Percy shuddered. That was awful, that argument. He'd said so many things he regretted. He was going to have to apologize again. He could feel all the burning stares of people on him and the subtle pressure of Lexi's hand on his. Tom was sat on his other side, and the smaller boy was attempting to hug him.****

'It was the first week back after term ended,' said Ron. 'We were about to come and join the Order. Percy came home and told us he'd been promoted.'

'You're kidding?' said Harry.

Though he knew perfectly well that Percy was highly ambitious, Harry's impression was that Percy had not made a great success of his first job at the Ministry of Magic. Percy had committed the fairly large oversight of failing to notice that his boss was being controlled by Lord Voldemort (not that the Ministry had believed it-they all thought Mr. Crouch had gone mad).

Percy couldn't help but roll his eyes as Remus, Sirius, James and Regulus burst out into a fit of coughs simultaneously.****

'Yeah, we were all surprised,' said George, 'because Percy got into a load of trouble about Crouch, there was an inquiry and everything. They said Percy ought to have realised Crouch was off his rocker and informed a superior. But you know Percy, Crouch left him in charge, he wasn't going to complain...'

"Thanks, George." Percy commented dryly.

"Don't mention it." The twin winked at his older brother, sending Dora, Harry, Bill and Charlie into fits of giggles as Percy shot him a withering look.****

'So how come they promoted him?'

'That's exactly what we wondered,' said Ron, who seemed very keen to keep normal conversation going now that Harry had stopped yelling. 'He came home really pleased with himself-even more pleased than usual, if you can imagine that

"I was such a prat."

"Was? I thought you still were!"

"Shut up, Lexi."

**-and told Dad he'd been offered a position in Fudge's own office. A really good one for someone only a year out of Hogwarts-Junior Assistant to the Minister. He expected Dad to be all impressed, I think.'**

'Only Dad wasn't,' said Fred grimly.

'Why not?' said Harry.

'Well, apparently Fudge has been storming round the Ministry checking that nobody's having any contact with Dumbledore,' said George.

"Oh, it makes sense." Fabian said. "We're proud of you, bud, for being promoted, but Fudge's using you to spy on the rest of your family."

"I know that now." Percy commented, rolling his eyes. "But I didn't back then. I was really, really stupid – don't even say I still am, Fred, George, Lexi, because I am not!"

"You still are." Percy groaned, hiding his face in his hands as the little boy he forgot was sitting next to him piped up, causing most of the room to laugh.****

'Dumbledore's name is mud with the Ministry these days, see,' said Fred. 'They all think he's just making trouble saying You-Know-Who's back.'

'Dad says Fudge has made it clear that anyone who's in league with Dumbledore can clear out their desks,' said George.

'Trouble is, Fudge suspects Dad, he knows he's friendly with Dumbledore, and he's always thought Dad's a bit of a weirdo because of his Muggle obsession.'

"…true." Arthur commented.

"All the best people are insanely weird." Lexi said. "For example, Professor Dumbledore." The old wizard smiled at Lexi, blue eyes twinkling.****

'But what's that got to do with Percy?' asked Harry, confused.

'I'm coming to that. Dad reckons Fudge only wants Percy in his office because he wants to use him to spy on the family-and Dumbledore.'

Harry let out a low whistle.

'Bet Percy loved that.'

Ron laughed in a hollow sort of way.

'He went completely berserk. He said-well, he said loads of terrible stuff. He said he's been having to struggle against Dad's lousy reputation ever since he joined the Ministry and that Dad's got no ambition and that's why we've always been-you know-not had a lot of money, I mean-'

At this, the stares on Percy hardened, and Lexi squeezed his hand tighter.

"I – I really am sorry." Percy said, looking up to see his mother looking as though she were about to cry and his dad's eyes burning with anger. "I was stupid and ridiculous for not believing you but…I'd accomplished something. I wanted you to be proud of me! You were always proud of Bill and Charlie and, suddenly, I was in a good paying job and it was as though you thought I wasn't working hard…" He closed his eyes and took in a deep, shaky breath. "I'm going to be a prat and idiotic and terrible during these books, I know it. And I regret all of it. I can't change what I did, but if I could, I would."

The glares directed at him abated, and Lexi squeezed his hand once more, Tom resting his head against Percy's side.****

'What?' said Harry in disbelief, as Ginny made a noise like an angry cat.

'I know,' said Ron in a low voice. 'And it got worse. He said Dad was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going to go down with him, and that he-Percy-knew where his loyalty lay and it was with the Ministry. And if Mum and Dad were going to become traitors to the Ministry he was going to make sure everyone knew he didn't belong to our family any more. And he packed his bags the same night and left. He's living here in London now.'

His eyes closed tightly as Molly let out a dry sob. Fabian and Gideon exchanged looks, before nodding and walked over to Percy, who looked at them through fearful eyes.

"We forgive you, you know." Fabian said, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"You were a prat, but you're sorry – we can see that." Gideon added, placing his hand on Percy's other shoulder. Percy managed a weak smile and mouthed 'thank you' to the twins, who smiled back before returning to their seats.****

Harry swore under his breath. He had always liked Percy least of Ron's brothers, but he had never imagined he would say such things to Mr. Weasley.

'Mum's been in a right state,' said Ron dully. 'You know-crying and stuff. She came up to London to try and talk to Percy but he slammed the door in her face. I dunno what he does if he meets Dad at work-ignores him, I s'pose. _**Lexi's been sending owls and stuff, I think. But so far, there's been no luck.**_**'**

"I forgot the house was under the Fidelius." Lexi said sheepishly. "I wouldn't've gotten any response."

"Sometimes I wonder how you passed your NEWTs." Percy rolled his eyes, a lot less burdened now he had his uncle's accept his apology.****

'But Percy must know Voldemort's back,' said Harry slowly. 'He's not stupid, he must know your mum and dad wouldn't risk everything without proof-'

'Yeah, well, your name got dragged into the row,' said Ron, shooting Harry a furtive look. 'Percy said the only evidence was your word and ... I dunno ... he didn't think it was good enough.'

Harry looked at Percy through wide, hurt green eyes.

"I know better know." The Weasley said, and that seemed good enough for Harry. He nodded, snuggling back down into the couch's pillows.****

'Percy takes the Daily Prophet seriously,' said Hermione tartly, and the others all nodded.

'What are you talking about?' Harry asked, looking around at them all. They were all regarding him warily.

'Haven't-haven't you been getting the Daily Prophet?' Hermione asked nervously.

'Yeah, I have!' said Harry.

'Have you-er- been reading it thoroughly?' Hermione asked, still more anxiously.

"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that."

"You forget a lot of stuff."

"Still don't know how you passed your NEWTs." For that comment, Percy earned himself a thwack around the back of the head and Fred a stinging hex.****

'Not cover to cover,' said Harry defensively. 'If they were going to report anything about Voldemort it would be headline news, wouldn't it?'

The others flinched at the sound of the name. Hermione hurried on, 'Well, you'd need to read it cover to cover to pick it up, but they-um-they mention you a couple of times a week.'

'But I'd have seen-'

'Not if you've only been reading the front page, you wouldn't,' said Hermione, shaking her head. 'I'm not talking about big articles. They just slip you in, like you're a standing joke.'

"Pleasant." Dorea sniffed, looking rather disgusted. "He's a boy, for Merlin's sake!"

"That's despicable!" Rowena added, Helga looking annoyed.****

'What d'you-?'

'It's quite nasty, actually,' said Hermione in a voice of forced calm. 'They're just building on Rita's stuff.'

'But she's not writing for them any more, is she?'

'Oh, no, she's kept her promise-not that she's got any choice,' 

James' brows furrowed – what was Hermione talking about?

**Hermione added with satisfaction. 'But she laid the foundation for what they're trying to do now.'**

'Which is what?' said Harry impatiently.

'OK, you know she wrote that you were collapsing all over the place and saying your scar was hurting and all that?'

'Yeah,' said Harry, who was not likely to forget Rita Skeeter's stories about him in a hurry.

'Well, they're writing about you as though you're this deluded, attention-seeking person who thinks he's a great tragic hero or something,' 

"Harry? Attention seeking?" George looked like he was going to burst into hysterics. "Harry would rather die than have his name plastered in the paper's every day!"

"Don't talk about dying." Lily shuddered. "Not very pleasant thoughts emerging."

**said Hermione, very fast, as though it would be less unpleasant for Harry to hear these facts quickly. 'They keep slipping in snide comments about you. If some far-fetched story appears, they say something like, "A tale worthy of Harry Potter", and if anyone has a funny accident or anything it's, "Let's hope he hasn't got a scar on his forehead or we'll be asked to worship him next"-'**

'I don't want anyone to worship-' Harry began hotly.

'I know you don't,' said Hermione quickly, looking frightened. 'I know, Harry. But you see what they're doing? They want to turn you into someone nobody will believe. Fudge is behind it, I'll bet anything. They want wizards on the street to think you're just some stupid boy who's a bit of a joke, who tells ridiculous tall stories because he loves being famous and wants to keep it going.'

"They're the ones who keep him famous." Rose rolled her eyes. "Idiots."****

'I didn't ask- I didn't want- Voldemort killed my parents!' Harry spluttered. 'I got famous because he murdered my family but couldn't kill me! Who wants to be famous for that? Don't they think I'd rather it'd never-'

"Exactly." Pomona said sadly, looking at the little boy with the lightning scar who was cuddling up to James, the older boy having one arm wrapped around him.****

'We know, Harry,' said Ginny earnestly.

'And of course, they didn't report a word about the dementors attacking you,' said Hermione. 'Someone's told them to keep that quiet. That should've been a really big story, out-of-control dementors. They haven't even reported that you broke the International Statute of Secrecy. We thought they would, it would be in so well with this image of you as some stupid show-off. We think they're biding their time until you're expelled, then they're really going to go to town- I mean, if you're expelled, obviously,' she went on hastily. 'You really shouldn't be, not if they abide by their own laws, there's no case against you.'

They were back on the hearing and Harry did not want to think about that. He cast around for another change of subject, but was saved the necessity of finding one by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

'Uh oh.'

Fred gave the Extendable Ear a hearty tug; there was another loud crack and he and George vanished. Seconds later, Mrs. Weasley appeared in the bedroom doorway.

"It was as though we were never there." George said ominously, oblivious to the glare Molly sent him.****

'The meeting's over, you can come down and have dinner now. Everyone's dying to see you, Harry. And who's left all those Dungbombs outside the kitchen door?'

'Crookshanks,' said Ginny unblushingly. 'He loves playing with them.'

"Ooh, a mischievous one, is Ginny." Sirius said, ignoring the eye rolls he received from his brother and cousins for that obvious comment.****

'Oh,' said Mrs Weasley, 'I thought it might have been Kreacher, he keeps doing odd things like that. Now don't forget to keep your voices down in the hall. Ginny, your hands are filthy, what have you been doing? Go and wash them before dinner, please...'

Ginny grimaced at the others and followed her mother out of the room, leaving Harry alone with Ron and Hermione. Both of them were watching him apprehensively, as though they feared he would start shouting again now that everyone else had gone. The sight of them looking so nervous made him feel slightly ashamed.

'Look...' he muttered, but Ron shook his head, and Hermione said quietly, 'We knew you'd be angry, Harry, we really don't blame you, but you've got to understand, we did try to persuade Dumbledore-'

'Yeah, I know,' said Harry grudgingly.

"Sometimes." Lexi shook her head in exasperation.****

He cast around for a topic that didn't involve his headmaster, because the very thought of Dumbledore made Harry's insides burn with anger again.

'Who's Kreacher?' he asked.

'The house-elf who lives here,' said Ron. 'Nutter. Never met one like him.'

"Ain't that true." Sirius said.

"Kreacher's alright." Regulus said in defence of the house-elf.

"That's because he likes you."****

Hermione frowned at Ron.

'He's not a nutter, Ron-'

'His life's ambition is to have his head cut off and stuck up on plaque just like his mother,' 

Petunia pulled a face at that.

**said Ron irritably. 'Is that normal, Hermione?'**

'Well-well, if he is a bit strange, it's not his fault-'

Ron rolled his eyes at Harry.

'Hermione still hasn't given up on spew.'

"Spew?" Bella managed to choke out as some of the room burst into hysterical laughter.

"Explained." Fred said, continuing reading.****

'It's not "spew"!' said Hermione heatedly. 'It's the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. And it's not just me, Dumbledore says we should be kind to Kreacher too-'

'Yeah, yeah,' said Ron. 'C'mon, I'm starving.'

"When is he not?"

"That's a very good question…which no one shall ever know the answer to."****

He led the way out of the door and on to the landing, but before they could descend the stairs- 'Hold it!' Ron breathed, flinging out an arm to stop Harry and Hermione walking any further. 'They're still in the hall, we might be able to hear something-'

"Eavesdropping!" Regulus and Sirius sang. Remus rolled his eyes at both brothers – they were so similar in some ways.****

The three of them looked cautiously over the banisters. The gloomy hallway below was packed with witches and wizards, including all of Harry's guard. They were whispering excitedly together. In the very centre of the group Harry saw the dark, greasy-haired head and prominent nose of his least favourite teacher at Hogwarts, Professor Snape. 

"Flattering." Severus commented dryly as the Marauders burst into laughter, the Evan sisters trying to hide their laughter.

**Harry leant further over the banisters. He was very interested in what Snape was doing for the Order of the Phoenix...**

"Spying." Narcissa said, rolling her eyes.****

A thin piece of flesh-coloured string descended in front of Harry's eyes. Looking up, he saw Fred and George on the landing above, cautiously lowering the Extendable Ear towards the dark knot of people below. A moment later, however, they all began to move towards the front door and out of sight.

'Dammit,' Harry heard Fred whisper, as he hoisted the Extendable Ear back up again.

They heard the front door open, then close.

'Snape never eats here,' Ron told Harry quietly. 'Thank God. C'mon.'

Some snorted in amusement at that.****

'And don't forget to keep your voice down in the hall, Harry,' Hermione whispered.

"What is in the hall?" Andy was curious. It was in her nature.****

As they passed the row of house-elf heads on the wall, they saw Lupin, Mrs. Weasley, and Tonks at the front door, magically sealing its many locks and bolts behind those who had just left.

'We're eating down in the kitchen,' Mrs. Weasley whispered, meeting them at the bottom of the stairs. 'Harry, dear, if you'll just tiptoe across the hall it's through this door here-'

CRASH.

"What the –"****

'Tonks!' 

"Clumsy as ever, Dora." Sirius said, looking at the blushing metamorphmagus, who had hot pink hair to match her face.

**cried Mrs. Weasley in exasperation, turning to look behind her. **_**The sound of footsteps echoed on the landing and Lexi's head appeared over the banister, looking to see what had caused the noise.**_****

'I'm sorry!' wailed Tonks, who was lying flat on the floor. 'It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over-'

But the rest of her words were drowned by a horrible, ear-splitting, blood-curdling screech.

"What is it?" Lucius was now curious. Finally, they were finding out what the creature in the hallway was.****

The moth-eaten velvet curtains Harry had passed earlier had flown apart, but there was no door behind them. For a split second, Harry thought he was looking through a window, a window behind which an old woman in a black cap was screaming and screaming as though she were being tortured-then he realised it was simply a life-size portrait, but the most realistic, and the most unpleasant, he had ever seen in his life.

Fred and George held back sniggers at the look of indignance Walburga had on her face. Now that they thought about it, the portrait was a great resemblance of her.****

The old woman was drooling, her eyes were rolling, the yellowing skin of her face stretched taut as she screamed, and all along the hall behind them, the other portraits awoke and began to yell, too, so that Harry actually screwed up his eyes at the noise and clapped his hands over his ears.

Lupin and Mrs Weasley darted forward and tried to tug the curtains shut over the old woman, but they would not close and she screeched louder than ever, brandishing clawed hands as though trying to tear at their faces.

'Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers-'

"Pleasant, dear. Really pleasant." Orion sighed. Walburga shot her husband a glare. Regulus clapped a hand over his mouth to stop laughing, whereas Sirius had no restraints, laughing openly along with James.****

Tonks apologised over and over again, dragging the huge, heavy troll's leg back off the floor; Mrs. Weasley abandoned the attempt to close the curtains and hurried up and down the hall, Stunning all the other portraits with her wand; and a man with long black hair came charging out of a door facing Harry.

'Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!' he roared, seizing the curtain Mrs. Weasley had abandoned.

"Well, I have a good idea who that is." Bella said, looking at Sirius.****

The old woman's face blanched.

'Yoooou!' she howled, her eyes popping at the sight of the man. 'Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!'

"Yup, definitely Siri." Remus confirmed.****

'I said-shut-UP!' roared the man, and with a stupendous effort he and Lupin managed to force the curtains closed again.

The old woman's screeches died and an echoing silence fell. Panting slightly and sweeping his long dark hair out of his eyes, Harry's godfather Sirius turned to face him.

'Hello, Harry,' he said grimly, 'I see you've met my mother.'

"And what a pleasant woman she is." Fred said, folding the corner of the page he read, tossing the book to Lily, who caught it deftly.

"My turn!" She trilled, opening the book.

XoOoX

And it is done. A lot quicker than I expected it to be done, too. So, yeah, I want to speed through these next few chapters so I can get to when they're at school, as that's more interesting, though the next two will pose some problems for the Black family.

Anyway, read and review. Every little helps! ~ Jazz xx


	12. OotP The Order of the Phoenix

**The Order of the Phoenix**

**'Your-?'**

'My dear old mum, yeah,' said Sirius. 'We've been trying to get her down for a month but we think she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas. 

"Well, shit." Sirius muttered. He knew he shouldn't have used the permanent charm on his posters and Gryffindor banners, but no, he had to be reckless. Well, that had turned out brilliantly! Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius could be stupid sometimes.

**Let's get downstairs, quick, before they all wake up again.'**

'But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?' 

"It's my house, duh." Sirius said, ruffling the younger Harry's hair.

"Pleasant house, too." George said, voice laced with sarcasm.

"Oh, I know." Sirius replied in the same tone. Regulus rolled his eyes at his brother. Sometimes, he did worry about him.

**Harry asked, bewildered, as they went through the door from the hall and led the way down a flight of narrow stone steps, the others just behind them.**

'Hasn't anyone told you? This was my parents' house,' said Sirius. 'But I'm the last Black left, 

At that, the entire room froze, turning to stare at the Blacks. The elder Blacks were, surprisingly, not making a fuss. After all, they weren't getting younger. Bella, Cissy and Regulus, however, were a completely different story.

"Wait, we," Cissy pointed to herself and Bella, trying not to look at the trembling, white faced Regulus. "Can change our names if we get married, right?"

"Yes." Percy said. "You and Lucius get married. Bella marries one of the Lestrange brothers." Lucius and Narcissa exchanged looks, before shrugging. It could be worse. Bella's mind was whirling, though. A Lestrange…weren't the Lestranges entombed in Azkaban. She shuddered- a fate worse than death. Hopefully, she had died while in there. She would have been driven insane. She knew she wasn't going to be innocent of whatever crimes she had been accused of committing.

"Reg…" Sirius choked out, looking at his little brother, who was shaking like a leaf. "You can't…you can't d-d-die." He remembered what Lexi had told him, but it had now fully hit him. His little brother, the person he was supposed to protect, was going to die. Regulus sniffled slightly, before standing up and practically flinging himself at Sirius, who hugged the smaller boy in a death grip, as though he would vanish into smoke any second.

"I don't want to die, Siri. I can't, I," He hiccupped, tears streaming down his face. "It's not fair!"

"You won't die." Charlus said, causing all the Black's to look at him. The Potter's face was hard, determined. "We won't let it happen this time." Regulus looked at the group with hopeful eyes. "We promise."

"Th-thank you." He sniffed again and Remus budged up the couch, allowing Regulus to squeeze himself between the werewolf and his brother, who wrapped an arm around the younger Black's shoulders, determined not to let him go.

**so it's mine now. I offered it to Dumbledore for Headquarters-about the only useful thing I've been able to do.'**

Harry, who had expected a better welcome, noted how hard and bitter Sirius's voice sounded. 

"Oh, yeah." Bella turned to look at Sirius. "That house is going to drive you crazy."

"Tell me about it." Sirius groaned.

**He followed his godfather to the bottom of the steps and through a door leading into the basement kitchen.**

It was scarcely less gloomy than the hall above, a cavernous room with rough stone walls. Most of the light was coming from a large fire at the far end of the room. A haze of pipe smoke hung in the air like battle fumes, through which loomed the menacing shapes of heavy iron pots and pans hanging from the dark ceiling. Many chairs had been crammed into the room for the meeting and a long wooden table stood in the middle of them, littered with rolls of parchment, goblets, empty wine bottles, and a heap of what appeared to be rags. Mr. Weasley and his eldest son Bill were talking quietly with their heads together at the end of the table.

Arthur perked up at the mention of his name, and Bill clapped happily.****

Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat. Her husband, a thin, balding, red-haired man who wore horn-rimmed glasses, looked around and jumped to his feet.

"What a pleasant description." Arthur said sarcastically, Harry giggling slightly.****

'Harry!' Mr. Weasley said, hurrying forward to greet him, and shaking his hand vigorously. 'Good to see you!'

Over his shoulder Harry saw Bill, who still wore his long hair in a ponytail, 

Molly's eyes narrowed a fraction and the four from the future exchanged looks. That was so typical of Molly Weasley. She hadn't really changed much.

**hastily rolling up the lengths of parchment left on the table.**

'Journey all right, Harry?' Bill called, trying to gather up twelve scrolls at once. 'Mad-Eye didn't make you come via Greenland, then?'

"He most definitely tried to." Ted said, sounding slightly amused.****

'He tried,' said Tonks, striding over to help Bill and immediately toppling a candle on to the last piece of parchment. 'Oh no-sorry-'

'Here, dear,' said Mrs. Weasley, sounding exasperated, and she repaired the parchment with a wave of her wand. In the flash of light caused by Mrs. Weasley's charm Harry caught a glimpse of what looked like the plan of a building.

"Too damn observant." Charlus muttered, looking at Harry who was innocently oblivious.****

Mrs. Weasley had seen him looking. She snatched the plan off the table and stuffed it into Bill's already overladen arms.

'This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings,' she snapped, before sweeping off towards an ancient dresser from which she started unloading dinner plates.

Bill took out his wand, muttered, 'Evanesce!' and the scrolls vanished.

'Sit down, Harry' said Sirius. 'You've met Mundungus, haven't you?'

"Ooooh, everyone was soooo mad at him!" Fred said gleefully.

"Was really entertaining!" George crowed.****

The thing Harry had taken to be a pile of rags gave a prolonged, grunting snore, then jerked awake.

'Some'n say m'name?' Mundungus mumbled sleepily. 'I agree with Sirius...' 

"What's the matter with him?" James asked. "I mean, who in their right mind would agree with this dog?" Sirius attempted to launch himself at James, who moved backwards, causing Sirius to fall on Harry's lap. The boy squealed, James laughed and Sirius glared at him, before sitting up normally and pouting. Regulus laughed at his brother.

**He raised a very grubby hand in the air as though voting, his droopy, bloodshot eyes unfocused.**

Ginny giggled.

The meeting's over, Dung,' said Sirius, as they all sat down around him at the table. 'Harry's arrived.'

'Eh?' said Mundungus, peering bale fully at Harry through his matted ginger hair. 'Blimey, so 'e 'as. Yeah ... you all right, 'arry?'

'Yeah,' said Harry.

Mundungus fumbled nervously in his pockets, still staring at Harry, and pulled out a grimy black pipe. He stuck it in his mouth, ignited the end of it with his wand and took a deep pull on it. Great billowing clouds of greenish smoke obscured him within seconds.

'Owe you a 'pology,' grunted a voice from the middle of the smelly cloud.

'For the last time, Mundungus,' called Mrs. Weasley, 'will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!'

Molly muttered something under her breath. Arthur, Gideon and Fabian exchanged exasperated looks.****

'Ah,' said Mundungus. 'Right. Sorry, Molly.'

The cloud of smoke vanished as Mundungus stowed his pipe back in his pocket, but an acrid smell of burning socks lingered.

'And if you want dinner before midnight I'll need a hand,' Mrs. Weasley said to the room at large. 'No, you can stay where you are, Harry dear, you've had a long journey-'

'What can I do, Molly?' said Tonks enthusiastically, bounding forwards.

"Oh dear." Andy winced slightly.****

Mrs. Weasley hesitated, looking apprehensive.

"You have a right to." Cissy said seriously. Dora pouted at her aunt.****

'Er-no, it's all right, Tonks, you have a rest too, you've done enough today.'

'No, no, I want to help!' said Tonks brightly, knocking over a chair as she hurried towards the dresser, from which Ginny was collecting cutlery.

Soon, a series of heavy knives were chopping meat and vegetables of their own accord, supervised by Mr. Weasley, while Mrs. Weasley stirred a cauldron dangling over the fire and the others took out plates, more goblets and food from the pantry. Harry was left at the table with Sirius and Mundungus, who was still blinking at him mournfully.

'Seen old Figgy since?' he asked.

'No,' said Harry, 'I haven't seen anyone.'

'See, I wouldn't 'ave left,' said Mundungus, leaning forward, a pleading note in his voice, 'but I 'ad a business opportunity-'

"What are his 'business opportunities'?" Lily asked, looking slightly murderous. Sev and Petunia inched away from her, looking terrified.

"Illegal stuff." Lexi shrugged, ignorant to the close to exploding red head. "Not sure, to be honest. Don't pay much attention to Dung."****

Harry felt something brush against his knees and started, but it was only Crookshanks, Hermione's bandy-legged ginger cat, who wound himself once around Harry's legs, purring, then jumped on to Sirius's lap and curled up. Sirius scratched him absent-mindedly behind the ears as he turned, still grim-faced, to Harry.

'Had a good summer so far?'

'No, it's been lousy,' said Harry.

For the first time, something like a grin flitted across Sirius's free.

'Don't know what you're complaining about, myself.'

Everyone raised an inquiring eyebrow at Sirius, who raised both hands in defence.

"Hey, I don't know what I'm talking about!"****

'What?' said Harry incredulously.

'Personally, I'd have welcomed a dementor attack. A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotony nicely. You think you've had it bad, at least you've been able to get out and about, stretch your legs, get into a few fights... I've been stuck inside for a month.'

Lucius wrinkled his nose.

"That's awful."

"You're telling me."****

'How come?' asked Harry, frowning.

'Because the Ministry of Magic's still after me, and Voldemort will know all about me being an Animagus by now, Wormtail will have told him, so my big disguise is useless. There's not much I can do for the Order of the Phoenix ... or so Dumbledore feels.'

Regulus pulled his brother into a sideways hug, which Sirius returned. Dumbledore sighed, looking weary.****

There was something about the slightly flattened tone of voice in which Sirius uttered Dumbledore's name that told Harry that Sirius, too, was not very happy with the headmaster either. Harry felt a sudden upsurge of affection for his godfather.

Sirius felt a smile tugging on his lips. At least he had Harry in the future. And Remus. He shot the werewolf a wink over his brother's shoulder. The werewolf smiled back.****

'At least you've known what's been going on,' he said bracingly.

'Oh yeah,' said Sirius sarcastically. 'Listening to Snape's reports, having to take all his snide hints that he's out there risking his life while I'm sat on my backside here having a nice comfortable time ... asking me how the cleaning's going-'

"Really nice there, Sev." Lily said, sighing. The Slytherin raised his hands.

"Future me!"

"Don't do it again."

"I won't!"

"He's so whipped." Lexi whispered to Percy, who stifled a snicker.****

'What cleaning?' asked Harry.

'Trying to make this place fit for human habitation,' said Sirius, waving a hand around the dismal kitchen. 'No one's lived here for ten years, not since my dear mother died, unless you count her old house-elf, and he's gone round the twist, hasn't cleaned anything in ages-'

"What a lovely house!" Helga said sarcastically. None of the elder Blacks had the guts to go up against a founder of Hogwarts, so they remained silent.****

'Sirius,' said Mundungus, who did not appear to have paid any attention to the conversation, but had been closely examining an empty goblet. 'This solid silver, mate?'

'Yes,' said Sirius, surveying it with distaste. 'Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest.'

'That'd come orf, though,' muttered Mundungus, polishing it with his cuff.

Many snorted in amusement at that. Walburga looked highly offended and the other elder Blacks eyes narrowed slightly. Regulus' shoulders were shaking with laughter, hiding his face in Sirius' sleeve, the elder brother roaring with laughter.****

'Fred-George-NO, JUST CARRY THEM!' Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

Harry, Sirius and Mundungus looked around and, within a split second, they had dived away from the table. Fred and George had bewitched a large cauldron of stew, an iron flagon of Butterbeer, and a heavy wooden breadboard, complete with knife, to hurtle through the air towards them. 

The twins cowered from the glare their mother sent them.

**The stew skidded the length of the table and came to a halt just before the end, leaving a long black burn on the wooden surface; the flagon of Butterbeer fell with a crash, spilling its contents everywhere; the bread knife slipped off the board and landed, point down and quivering ominously, exactly where Sirius's right hand had been seconds before.**

Sirius shook his head, Remus looking slightly horrified. Regulus suddenly had the urge to poke his brothers hand. You know, to make sure it was still intact and everything. So he did, ignoring the strange looks he got from just about everyone in the room.****

'FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!' screamed Mrs. Weasley. 'THERE WAS NO NEED- I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS- JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!'

"But doesn't everyone?" Lexi asked. "I know I did." Lots of people in the room nodded their assent. Percy coughed. "Well, you're supposed to be the responsible head boy. Of course you didn't."****

'We were just trying to save a bit of time!' said Fred, hurrying forward to wrench the bread knife out of the table. 'Sorry, Sirius, mate-didn't mean to-'

Harry and Sirius were both laughing; Mundungus, who had toppled backwards off his chair, was swearing as he got to his feet; Crookshanks had given an angry hiss and shot off under the dresser, from where his large yellow eyes glowed in the darkness.

"Poor cat." Petunia said, smiling slightly.****

'Boys,' Mr. Weasley said, lifting the stew back into the middle of the table, 'your mother's right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age-'

"Fred? George? _Responsible_?" Percy looked shocked. "Is that even possible?"

"OI!"

"He does have a point." Lexi piped up.****

'-none of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!' Mrs. Weasley raged at the twins as she slammed a fresh flagon of Butterbeer onto the table, and spilling almost as much again. 'Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't charm everything he met! Percy-'

Everyone winced.

"Oooh, this isn't going to turn out good." Rowena said.****

She stopped dead, catching her breath with a frightened look at her husband, whose expression was suddenly wooden. _**Lexi froze slightly, biting her lower lip.**_****

'Let's eat,' said Bill quickly.

"Good idea." Fabian said.****

'It looks wonderful, Molly,' said Lupin, ladling stew on to a plate for her and handing it across the table.

For a few minutes there was silence but for the chink of plates and cutlery and the scraping of chairs as everyone settled down to their food. Then Mrs. Weasley turned to Sirius.

'I've been meaning to tell you, Sirius, there's something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. Of course, it could just be a boggart, but I thought we ought to ask Alastor to have a look at it before we let it out.'

"Oh, he'd be able to see a boggart's true form!" Lexi said, sounding very excited. "'cause of his eye! Wow, I never thought of that before…" Percy shook his head fondly.****

'Whatever you like,' said Sirius indifferently.

'The curtains in there are full of doxys, too,' Mrs. Weasley went on. 'I thought we might try and tackle them tomorrow.'

'I look forward to it,' said Sirius. Harry heard the sarcasm in his voice, but he was not sure that anyone else did.

Opposite Harry, Tonks was entertaining Hermione and Ginny by transforming her nose between mouthfuls. Screwing up her eyes each time with the same pained expression she had worn back in Harry's bedroom, her nose swelled to a beak-like protuberance that resembled Snape's, shrank to the size of a button mushroom and then sprouted a great deal of hair from each nostril. 

Many of the younger children laughed at this, though Sirius looked at the young metamorphmagus, mildly impressed.

**Apparently this was a regular mealtime entertainment, because Hermione and Ginny were soon requesting their favourite noses.**

'Do that one like a pig snout, Tonks...'

Tonks obliged, and Harry, looking up, had the fleeting impression that a female Dudley was grinning at him from across the table.

Everyone couldn't suppress a shudder at that.****

Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Lupin were having an intense discuss on about goblins_**, Lexi listening in partially while pushing around the stew in her bowl absent mindedly.**_

"I wasn't hungry."

"No one cares."

"Shut up, George."

"No."

"Shut up, George." Tom mimicked Lexi, who gave him a thumbs up. George looked rather downtrodden. ****

'They're not giving anything away yet,' said Bill. 'I still can't work out whether or not they believe he's back. Course, they might prefer not to take sides at all. Keep out of it.'

'I'm sure they'd never go over to You-Know-Who,' said Mr. Weasley, shaking his head. 'They've suffered losses too; remember that goblin family he murdered last time, somewhere near Nottingham?'

'I think it depends what they're offered,' said Lupin. 'And I'm not talking about gold. If they're offered the freedoms we've been denying them for centuries they're going to be tempted. Have you still not had any luck with Ragnok, Bill?'

'He's feeling pretty anti-wizard at the moment,' said Bill, 'he hasn't stopped raging about the Bagman business, he reckons the Ministry did a cover-up, those goblins never got their gold from him, you know-'

"Oh, yeah, stop Ludo from going anywhere near the Ministry, please? Thank you." Fred and George smiled at Dumbledore, who shook his head at the twins.****

A gale of laughter from the middle of the table drowned the rest of Bill's words. Fred, George, Ron, and Mundungus were rolling around in their seats.

'...and then,' choked Mundungus, tears running down his face, 'and then, if you'll believe it, 'e says to me, 'e says, " 'Ere, Dung, where didja get all them toads from? 'Cos some son of a Sludger's gone and nicked all mine!" And I says, "Nicked all your toads, Will, what next? So you'll be wanting some more, then?" And if you'll believe me, lads, the gormless gargoyle buys all 'is own toads back orf me for a lot more'n what 'e paid in the first place-'

Many of the teenagers and the younger adults burst into gales of laughter at this, whereas Lily, Petunia, Snape and Percy looked rather disapproving. ****

'I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings, thank you very much, Mundungus,' said Mrs. Weasley sharply, as Ron slumped forwards on to the table, howling with laughter.

'Beg pardon, Molly,' said Mundungus at once, wiping his eyes and winking at Harry. 'But, you know, Will nicked 'em orf Warty Harris in the first place so I wasn't really doing nothing wrong-'

"I think he might need to be retaught that lesson." Salazar said, eyes twinkling with humour. ****

'I don't know where you learned about right and wrong, Mundungus, but you seem to have missed a few crucial lessons,' said Mrs. Weasley coldly.

Fred and George buried their faces in their goblets of Butterbeer; George was hiccoughing. For some reason, Mrs. Weasley threw a very nasty look at Sirius before getting to her feet and going to fetch a large rhubarb crumble for pudding. 

Lots of people in the room raised a curious eyebrow at this.

**Harry looked round at his godfather.**

'Molly doesn't approve of Mundungus,' said Sirius in an undertone.

'How come he's in the Order?' Harry said, very quietly.

'He's useful,' Sirius muttered. 'Knows all the crooks-well, he would, seeing as he's one himself. But he's also very loyal to Dumbledore, who helped him out of a tight spot once. It pays to have someone like Dung around, he hears things we don't. But Molly thinks inviting him to stay for dinner is going too far. She hasn't forgiven him for slipping off duty when he was supposed to be tailing you.'

"I doubt many people have." Dorea commented.****

Three helpings of rhubarb crumble and custard later and the waistband on Harry's jeans was feeling uncomfortably tight (which was saying something as the jeans had once been Dudley's). As he laid down his spoon there was a lull in the general conversation. Mr. Weasley was leaning back in his chair, looking replete and relaxed, Tonks was yawning widely, her nose now back to normal,_** Lexi was dozing off on Lupin's shoulder**_

Remus smiled fondly at that. It was nice to know that someone who knew his secret and hadn't been best friends with him at Hogwarts was willing to trust him that much. Lexi shot the werewolf a grin, which he returned.

**and Ginny, who had lured Crookshanks out from under the dresser, was sitting cross-legged on the floor, rolling Butterbeer corks for him to chase.**

'Nearly time for bed, I think,' said Mrs. Weasley with a yawn.

'Not just yet, Molly,' said Sirius, pushing away his empty plate and turning to look at Harry. 'You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort.'

A few people in the room shuddered at that. Lexi could almost imagine Harry telling them that it was just a bloody name. Sometimes she really did miss him.****

The atmosphere in the room changed with the rapidity Harry associated with the arrival of dementors. Where seconds before it had been sleepily relaxed, it was now alert, even tense. A frisson had gone around the table at the mention of Voldemort's name. Lupin, who had been about to take a sip of wine, lowered his goblet slowly, looking wary_**, Lexi's head rising rather slowly**_**.**

'I did!' said Harry indignantly. 'I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so-'

'And they're quite right,' said Mrs. Weasley. 'You're too young.'

She was sitting bolt upright in her chair, her fists clenched on its arms, every trace of drowsiness gone.

"Oooh, do I sense a fight?" Bella looked rather interested now.****

'Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?' asked Sirius. 'Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen-'

'Hang on!' interrupted George loudly.

'How come Harry gets his questions answered?' said Fred angrily.

'We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!' said George.

'"You're too young, you're not in the Order,"' said Fred, in a high-pitched voice that sounded uncannily like his mother's. 'Harry's not even of age!'

"You two gave me a headache with how much you complained about that." Lexi groaned.

"Not like you didn't want information." George muttered.

"But I didn't groan about it, did I?" Lexi grinned wickedly.****

'It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing,' said Sirius calmly, 'that's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand-'

'It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!' said Mrs. Weasley sharply. The expression on her normally kind face looked dangerous. 'You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?'

'Which bit?' Sirius asked politely, but with the air of a man readying himself for a fight.

James let out a whistle. Sirius must have guts to go up against Molly Weasley.****

'The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know,' said Mrs. Weasley, placing a heavy emphasis on the last three words.

Ron, Hermione,_** Lexi,**_** Fred, and George's heads swivelled from Sirius to Mrs. Weasley as though they were following a tennis rally. Ginny was kneeling amid a pile of abandoned Butterbeer corks, watching the conversation with her mouth slightly open. Lupin's eyes were fixed on Sirius.**

'I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly,' said Sirius. 'But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back' (again, there was a collective shudder around the table at the name), 'he has more right than most to-'

"True." Rose said.****

'He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!' said Mrs. Weasley. 'He's only fifteen and- '

'-and he's dealt with as much as most in the Order,' said Sirius, 'and more than some-'

'No one's denying what he's done!' said Mrs. Weasley, her voice rising, her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. 'But he's still-'

'He's not a child!' said Sirius impatiently.

'He's not an adult either!' said Mrs. Weasley, the colour rising in her cheeks. 'He's not James, Sirius!'

A deafening silence fell over the room as Molly raised a hand to her mouth in shock.

"Oh my…I'm sorry." Sirius waved it off.

"It's fine, Molly. Honestly – this hasn't happened yet."****

'I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly,' said Sirius coldly.

'I'm not sure you are!' said Mrs. Weasley. 'Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!'

'What's wrong with that?' said Harry.

'What's wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him!' said Mrs. Weasley, her eyes still boring into Sirius. 'You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!'

'Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?' demanded Sirius, his voice rising.

'Meaning you have been known to act rashly, 

"Eh, true." Sirius admitted grudgingly.

**Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and-'**

'We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!' said Sirius loudly.

'Arthur!' said Mrs. Weasley rounding on her husband. 'Arthur, back me up!'

Mr. Weasley did not speak at once. He took off his glasses and cleaned them slowly on his robes, not looking at his wife. Only when he had replaced them carefully on his nose did he reply.

'Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in, to a certain extent, now that he is staying at headquarters-'

'Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting him to ask whatever he likes!'

'Personally,' said Lupin quietly, looking away from Sirius at last, as Mrs. Weasley turned quickly to him, hopeful that finally she was about to get an ally, 'I think it better that Harry gets the facts-not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture-from us, rather than a garbled version from ... others.'

"Oh, well that's brilliant." George said sarcastically.

"Lupin knows." Fred groaned. Remus grinned.****

His expression was mild, but Harry felt sure Lupin, at least, knew that some Extendable Ears had survived Mrs. Weasley's purge.  


"Well, I am a Marauder."

**'Well,' said Mrs Weasley, breathing deeply and looking around the table for support that did not come, 'well ... I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has Harry's best interests at heart-'**

'He's not your son,' said Sirius quietly.

'He's as good as,' said Mrs. Weasley fiercely. 'Who else has he got?'

"Um, hello?" Sirius gesticulated madly to himself. Remus rolled his eyes.****

'He's got me!'

'Yes,' said Mrs Weasley, her lip curling, 'the thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?'

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt!" James winced violently. Lily rolled her eyes at him. Molly opened her mouth to apologize, but Sirius raised a hand, telling her to stop.****

Sirius started to rise from his chair.

'Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry,' said Lupin sharply. 'Sirius, sit down.'

Mrs. Weasleys lower lip was trembling. Sirius sank slowly back into his chair, his face white.

"Good boy." Regulus couldn't help but say, patting Sirius on the head, effectively getting rid of the tension in the room as many snickered at the disgruntled look on Sirius' face.****

'I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this,' Lupin continued, 'he's old enough to decide for himself.'

'I want to know what's been going on,' Harry said at once.

He did not look at Mrs. Weasley. He had been touched by what she had said about his being as good as a son, but he was also impatient with her mollycoddling. Sirius was right, he was not a child.

'Very well,' said Mrs. Weasley, her voice cracking. 'Ginny-Ron—Hermione_**-Lexi**_**-Fred-George-I want, you out of this kitchen, now.'**

"You're not going to agree, are you?" Percy said, looking at his brothers and the Slytherin. They all shot him looks that clearly said 'well, what do you think?'****

There was instant uproar.

'We're of age!' Fred and George bellowed together.

"_**I'm older than Harry! I have a right to know!" Lexi yelled.**_****

'If Harry's allowed, why can't I?' shouted Ron.

'Mum, I want to hear!' wailed Ginny.

'NO!' shouted Mrs. Weasley, standing up, her eyes overbright. 'I absolutely forbid-'

'Molly you can't stop Fred and George,' said Mr. Weasley wearily. 'They are of age-'

'They're still at school-'

'But they're legally adults now,' said Mr. Weasley, in the same tired voice.

Mrs. Weasley was now scarlet in the face.

'I-oh, all right then, Fred and George can stay, but Ron-'

'Harry'll tell me and Hermione _**and Lexi **_**everything you say anyway!' said Ron hotly. 'Won't-won't you?' he added uncertainly, meeting Harry's eyes.**

For a split second, Harry considered telling Ron that he wouldn't tell him a single word, that he could try a taste of being kept in the dark and see how he liked it. 

Harry winced violently. That would be really cruel.

**But the nasty impulse vanished as they looked at each other.**

'Course I will,' Harry said.

And the little boy smiled again.****

Ron and Hermione beamed._** Lexi inclined her head slightly.**_

"_**Lexi, I think it would be best if you stayed out of this." Lupin said, slightly cautiously as the Slytherin stared at him. "If any of this information leaks out in your common room –"**_

"Yeah, as if I'm gonna walk in there and say to Draco 'Hey, there's a secret organisation working to bring down your dad, and there's lots of Ministry people in it!' It'd be a bloody suicide mission!"

"And here I was, thinking you had a death wish." Percy muttered. This clever comment earned him an elbow in his side.

"_**It won't – I swear!" She said eagerly. "I'll be super careful, I promise." Lupin sighed.**_

"_**Alright. You can stay."**_****

'Fine!' shouted Mrs. Weasley. 'Fine! Ginny-BED!'

"She's not going to be happy." Gideon said.****

Ginny did not go quietly. They could hear her raging and storming at her mother all the way up the stairs, and when she reached the hall Mrs. Blacks ear-splitting shrieks were added to the din. Lupin hurried off to the portrait to restore calm. It was only after he had returned, closing the kitchen door behind him and taking his seat at the table again, that Sirius spoke.

'OK, Harry ... what do you want to know?'

"Everything." Fred said, causing many in the room to roll their eyes at the twin.****

Harry took a deep breath and asked the question that had obsessed him for the last month.

'Where's Voldemort?' he said, ignoring the renewed shudders and winces at the name. 'What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news, and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything-'

'That's because there haven't been any funny deaths yet,' said Sirius, 'not as far as we know, anyway... And we know quite a lot.'

'More than he thinks we do, anyway,' said Lupin.

"Wow." Lucius looked impressed. "You must have good sources – I wonder…oh, wait, Severus. Never mind."****

'How come he's stopped killing people?' Harry asked. He knew Voldemort had murdered more than once in the last year alone.

'Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself,' said Sirius. 'It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up.'

'Or rather, you messed it up for him,' said Lupin, with a satisfied smile.

'How?' Harry asked, perplexed.

"He wasn't supposed to survive." Minerva looked rather pleased at the fact Harry had gone and foiled Voldemort's plans. As she should do, really.****

'You weren't supposed to survive!' said Sirius. 'Nobody apart from his Death Eaters was supposed to know he'd come back. But you survived to bear witness.'

'And the very last person he wanted alerted to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore,' said Lupin. 'And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once.'

'How has that helped?' Harry asked.

'Are you kidding?' said Bill incredulously. 'Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever scared of!'

"Have you ever had the urge to say 'no, I don't know who' when someone says 'You-Know-Who'?" Lexi asked absently. Everyone gave her blank looks. "No, seriously? Well, just ignore me, then."

"How did she get into your house again?" Godric asked Salazar, who shrugged.

"I honestly have no idea."****

'Thanks to you, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned,' said Sirius.

'So, what's the Order been doing?' said Harry, looking around at them all.

'Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort can't carry out his plans,' said Sirius.

'How d'you know what his plans are?' Harry asked quickly.

'Dumbledore's got a shrewd idea,' said Lupin, 'and Dumbledore's shrewd ideas normally turn out to be accurate.'

"So true." Pomona sighed.****

'So what does Dumbledore reckon he's planning?'

'Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again,' said Sirius. 'In the old days he had huge numbers at his command: witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death Eaters, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the giants; well, they'll be just one of the groups he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Death Eaters.'

"Now that would be a suicide mission." Abraxas pointed out, rather unnecessarily.****

'So you're trying to stop him getting more followers?'

'We're doing our best,' said Lupin.

'How?'

'Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard,' said Bill. 'It's proving tricky, though.'

'Why?'

'Because of the Ministry's attitude,' said Tonks. 'You saw Cornelius Fudge after You-Know-Who came back, Harry. Well, he hasn't shifted his position at all. He's absolutely refusing to believe it's happened.'

'But why?' 

"Because he's scared of having to stop Voldemort from taking over, and he doesn't feel ready for it." Filius said, rolling his eyes at the pure incompetence of the Minister.

**said Harry desperately. 'Why's he being so stupid? If Dumbledore-'**

'Ah, well, you've put your finger on the problem,' said Mr. Weasley with a wry smile. 'Dumbledore.'

'Fudge is frightened of him, you see,' said Tonks sadly.

'Frightened of Dumbledore?' said Harry incredulously.

'Frightened of what he's up to,' said Mr. Weasley. 'Fudge thinks Dumbledore's plotting to overthrow him. He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister for Magic.'

"Oh, now honestly." Minerva rolled her eyes. "That's just idiotic."****

'But Dumbledore doesn't want-'

'Of course he doesn't,' said Mr. Weasley. 'He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it when Millicent Bagnold retired. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Dumbledore had, even though Dumbledore never applied for the job.'

'Deep down, Fudge knows Dumbledore's much cleverer than he is, a much more powerful wizard, and in the early days of his Ministry he was forever asking Dumbledore for help and advice,' said Lupin. 'But it seems he's become fond of power, and much more confident. He loves being Minister for Magic and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore's simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it.'

"Oh, dear Merlin, he sounds so annoying." Charlus commented.****

'How can he think that?' said Harry angrily. 'How can he think Dumbledore would just make it all up-that I'd make it all up?'

'Because accepting that Voldermort's back would mean trouble like the Ministry hasn't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years,' said Sirius bitterly. 'Fudge just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself Dumbledore's lying to destabilise him.'

'You see the problem,' said Lupin. 'While the Ministry insists there is nothing to fear from Voldemort it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place. What's more, the Ministry's leaning heavily on the Daily Prophet not to report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's rumour-mongering, so most of the wizarding community are completely unaware anything's happened, and that makes them easy targets for the Death Eaters if they're using the Imperius Curse.'

'But you're telling people, aren't you?' said Harry, looking around at Mr. Weasley, Sirius, Bill, Mundungus, Lupin and Tonks. 'You're letting people know he's back?'

They all smiled humourlessly.

'Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass-murderer and the Ministry's put a ten thousand Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?' said Sirius restlessly.

"And that means I'm stuck in that stupid house." He muttered.****

'And I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community,' said Lupin. 'It's an occupational hazard of being a werewolf.'

Remus sighed in disappointment. It hadn't changed at all, had it? Attitudes towards lycanthropes. Maybe it could change now, though.****

'Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry if they started shooting their mouths off,' 

Arthur looked annoyed that he couldn't do more to help the Order.

**said Sirius, 'and it's very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them.'**

'We've managed to convince a couple of people, though,' said Mr. Weasley. Tonks here, for one-she's too young to have been in the Order of the Phoenix last time, and having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage- Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a real asset, too; he's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry information that Sirius is in Tibet.'

'But if none of you are putting the news out that Voldemort's back-' Harry began.

'Who said none of us are putting the news out?' said Sirius. 'Why d'you think Dumbledore's in such trouble?'

'What d'you mean?' Harry asked.

'They're trying to discredit him,' said Lupin. 'Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip, but it's not true; he was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot-that's the Wizard High Court-and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too.'

'But Dumbledore says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog Cards,' 

Some laughed at that.

**said Bill, grinning.**

'It's no laughing matter,' said Mr. Weasley sharply. 'If he carries on defying the Ministry like this he could end up in Azkaban, and the last thing we want is to have Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore's out there and wise to what he's up to he's going to go cautiously. If Dumbledore's out of the way-well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field.'

'But if Voldemort's trying to recruit more Death Eaters it's bound to get out that he's come back, isn't it?' asked Harry desperately.

'Voldemort doesn't march up to people's houses and bang on their front doors, Harry,' said Sirius. 'He tricks, jinxes and blackmails them. He's well-practised at operating in secret. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in. He's got other plans too, plans he can put into operation very quietly indeed, and he's concentrating on those for the moment.'

'What's he after apart from followers?' Harry asked swiftly. He thought he saw Sirius and Lupin exchange the most fleeting of looks before Sirius answered, 'Stuff he can only get by stealth.'

When Harry continued to look puzzled, Sirius said, 'Like a weapon. Something he didn't have last time.'

'When he was powerful before?'

'Yes.'

'Like what kind of weapon?' said Harry. 'Something worse than the Avada Kedavra-?'

"'Crucio' is worse than Avada Kedavra." Bella said, shuddering.

"Bella…" Cissy wrapped an arm around her sister. Bellatrix just sighed.****

'That's enough!'

Mrs. Weasley spoke from the shadows beside the door. Harry hadn't noticed her return from taking Ginny upstairs. Her arms were crossed and she looked furious.

'I want you in bed, now. All of you,' she added, looking around at Fred, George, _**Lexi, **_**Ron and Hermione.**

'You can't boss us-' Fred began.

"Fred?"

"Yes, Lexi?"

"Do you have a death wish?" Many snorted at the indignant look on the red heads face.

Percy openly guffawed.****

'Watch me,' snarled Mrs. Weasley. She was trembling slightly as she looked at Sirius. 'You've given Harry plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway.'

'Why not?' said Harry quickly. 'I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight.'

'No.'

It was not Mrs Weasley who spoke this time, but Lupin.

"Good." Lily nodded. Harry didn't need any more on his plate really.****

'The Order is comprised only of overage wizards,' he said. 'Wizards who have left school,' he added, as Fred and George opened their mouths. 'There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you... I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough.'

Sirius half-shrugged but did not argue. Mrs. Weasley beckoned imperiously to her sons, _**Lexi**_** and Hermione. One by one they stood up and Harry, recognising defeat, followed suit.**

"And that's all." Lily said. "Who wants to read?"

XoOoX

And here's the next chapter! Thanks to **Shadow Leaf Nin** who kept badgering me to update this, so it is actually up on time. I love you, really :P

Anyways, I might (emphasis on might) be able to update earlier, 'cause it's half-term, but I'm revising for a physics exam, as well as doing two practice papers, so yeah.

Reviews, favourites, etc. are appreciated! ~ Jazz xx


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